What does this mean?I've heard that it was the foundation of some of the worst dictatorships in history.
Obviously, the elites that rule nations have always believed so. Armies are made of young people who submit to the risk of death and injury, either by their own voluntary action or, far more likely, on an officer's command. The youngster enlist for love of country; the rulers recruit them only sometimes from the same motive. Children of all species survive because their parents are prepared to give up their own comfort and freedom , very often their own safety and sometimes their own lives. Christian churches survive on the myth of a man-god who was willing to suffer and die for the sins of strangers.Is self sacrifice a bad or good thing in the long run?
Selfishness is simply a collective term for animal drives - not better or worse; it just is. The selfish desires of individuals must necessarily bring them into conflict.Is it better to be selfish? Is selfish desires better for society?
Does intelligence actually exist? Does musical aptitude actually exist? Does curiosity exist? Does disappointment?Does altruism actually exist?
I have a friend that continually makes this argument. (His is stronger: that there is no such thing as an altruistic act)Does altruism actually exist? Are not seemingly altruistic acts done for selfish reasons - whether to alleviate one's own guilt, to push one's own issues to the background, or some other such reason? Can it not be argued that even the willingness for self-sacrifice is due to the desire to alleviate a sense of guilt or sense of duty, not actually for the selfless reasons it might otherwise appear?
What does this mean?
Does altruism actually exist? Are not seemingly altruistic acts done for selfish reasons - whether to alleviate one's own guilt, to push one's own issues to the background, or some other such reason? Can it not be argued that even the willingness for self-sacrifice is due to the desire to alleviate a sense of guilt or sense of duty, not actually for the selfless reasons it might otherwise appear?
I have a friend that continually makes this argument. (His is stronger: that there is no such thing as an altruistic act)
Just because I am pleased with the result of an act, or even gain some benefit from it, does not mean it was a selfish act.
I should clarify the logic behind this.Just because I am pleased with the result of an act, or even gain some benefit from it, does not mean it was a selfish act.
But maybe when it becomes an ideology it becomes a danger, no longer a virtue and more a sin.In real life, no "system" or philosophy is purely one thing or another, any more than a person can be one-dimensional.
All ideologies and dicta are dangerous, because: 1. They require interpretation, which puts the interpreter above the rank-and-file adherents. 2. Because they reduce complex issues to absurd simplicity and 3. They are considered perfect and complete when written, which leaves no room for adaptation to changing conditions.But maybe when it becomes an ideology it becomes a danger, no longer a virtue and more a sin.
Altruism: Just because you're putting someone else first, does not mean you cannot still put yourself next in line.
Selfishness: not about whether you derive benefit from your own actions (nothing wrong with that); it is about putting yourself first in line, and others second.
And survival of the species is about being close to the front of the line, not necessarily at the front of the line. One day you're an altruist; the next day you're a recipient of altruism.Altruism: Just because you're putting someone else first, does not mean you cannot still put yourself next in line.
Selfishness: not about whether you derive benefit from your own actions (nothing wrong with that); it is about putting yourself first in line, and others second.
It doesn't even need to be so cerebral and explicit as an idea, most of the time. It's an instinct.I think it's an idea that exists in most.
Not just occasionally - all the time. Whenever you pick up a piece of litter, open a door for an old lady, nudge a baby buggy up the steps, nod when the cashier asks "Would you like to add $2 for the childrens' hospital?", run after the guy who forgot his wallet, help push a neighbour's stalled car,, call 911 when a stranger collapses in the street.... all the time. That's what social animals just naturally do, without having to think about it. In bigger ways, when we do have to consider it, a very large number of us enlist in armies, major in social work or trauma counselling, collect donations for the food bank, hump sandbags during floods, give blood and bequeath organs, teach adults to read, search for stupid hikers, travel to earthquake sites and sometimes run into burning buildings.We manage it within the realities of life, occasionally expressing it in small ways.
Sure. But greed, hate, suspicion and conceit are a whole lot easier to exploit.I think when taken to an extreme, it can be detrimental and leave the individual open to exploitation.
But maybe when it becomes an ideology it becomes a danger, no longer a virtue and more a sin.
The German Soul? That's two nebulous concepts making a third big question.My thought in the OP was that we can give too much of ourselves in an effort to serve the greater good, and thus end up serving a greater evil. An example would be the surrender of the German soul for the sake of a greater Germany.
I wish you didn't do that! If a can were labelled "caviar" contained rat poison, would you be this eager to spread it on your cracker?Or possibly communism might also serve as a good example: altruism on the surface, millions of dead as a result.
All patriotism, and all religion, sure. Leaders, for noble or ignoble motives equally, can always tap into the tribal instinct.You might use American patriotism as an example too.
Either way, if you gave him ten minutes' respite from his misery, it's a dollar well spent. Unless you take fraternal responsibility for him, calculating the long-term effect of your single tiny act is beyond your mandate.On a micro level, when I give the guy on the corner a dollar, I always question the virtue of doing so. Did I just buy him food or just another fix?
It's not about wealth. Most of the poor perform a hundred generous, compassionate, decent acts every day. So do many of the not-poor and few of the rich. Watching out for one another's safety, and doing favours doesn't redistribute wealth or change the politico-economic structure of a society.Still the number of poor would seem to hugely outnumber the altruists.
Alex
I see it as not my place to judge.On a micro level, when I give the guy on the corner a dollar, I always question the virtue of doing so. Did I just buy him food or just another fix?