We are all selfish creatures.

We are all completely selfish... and every decision we make is selfish and has to be selfish..

There is not one circumstance in which a selfless action is made.

Eating a burger - done for a reason concerning oneself... e.g. making yourself less hungry..

Saving someones life in exchange for you own - this is only done because we have a reason to do so.. this reason must involve us... otherwise there would be no motive to act.. sacrificing your own life involves the individual because their emotions come into play and they satisfy themselves by acting upon their OWN feelings and emotions... for instance they may feel a great deal of hapiness knowing that they will save anothers life.

Saying that an action can be selfless makes no sense.. because:

1. Emotion/feeling/sense of wrong and right drive us to make decisions..
2. A decision is never made for no reason.. we must feel a need to make the decision..
3. Because we make decisions based on how WE feel and what WE think is the correct thing to do - every action involves the individual.. and is therefore selfish..

what are your views?

 

Technically, you are correct.
In reality, when you look at any given act,
it falls somewhere along the scale between
completly selfish and completly selfless.

Point being, some actions are close enough to selfless that they count as such.

 

the peace pilgrim wasnt selfish, i guess i am selfish as i just hada bowl of icecream, but if people were here i'd share it with them

 

the peace pilgrim obviously felt a great deal of hapiness (or some such emotion) within HERSELF

making the pilgramige selfish in relation to suiting her needs.

 

true say but i personally wouldnt consider it selfish, i consider selfish stuff like not giving and stuff

 

if one is without self, than every action is selfless.

 

whats the point in living then?
you live for yourself, no one else
no one truely lives for others
is breathing selfish?

 

Do some peyote or LSD and start asking yourself some important questions - than you'll realize that being selfish isn't that bad.

Here's a good start to get your mind going - This world promotes service to others, Ie. It's better to give than recieve, however this puts people into a state of constant service where their entire lives revolve around other's happiness instead of their own. And in essence the societies of the world are creating slaves, who think that they're free because they live in "free countries", but everything they do and have done has been controlled since the day they were born. Being selfish and caring more about yourself is a GOOD thing. Even Jesus (who I don't believe in but I know some people ascribe to his teachings) said that Heaven is INSIDE us - So you don't need to look to the outside world to accept you and tell you that your alright and doing good, make it happen for yourself, and make your own Heaven where ever you are.

 

i can't speak of anyone else's experience, but in mine-the less i consciously think about my self, and how my current decision or reaction to each situation relates to the well-being of that self, and the more i focus on helping others, the less there seems to be any need to worry about myself any way.

some of the most powerful moments in my life followed self-less actions. they can exist, but only when one has at least partially contemplated the fact of their death, and the importance of the time they spend here. the self does not last, and there is no point in serving it till the end.

 

i completely agree.. selfishness is not the negative thing that it is made out to be..
although from what yyyesiam2 said.. serving others.. or helping others can be/or is a selfish thing in itself..
we all look for fullfilment/happiness/some kind of aim.. and however we go about in search of that aim... it is always in a selfish manner..
whether we look for happiness in taking drugs.. or eating food.. or helping others, everything we do is aimed at acomplishing something for ourselves in the long run.

 

I let a car go in front of me the other day in rush hour traffic.
I didn't feel good because i did it, and i wouldn't feel guilty if i hadn't.
I don't care about the other people around me.
And by letting the car in front i actually increased the time it would take me to get to my destination, so in no way was it in my best interest.
I also don't expect them to recognize me later on and let me into traffic...

soo.... kinda just blew apart your whole theory there... sorry.

 

no you didn't

the point i made was..
- to make any choice you MUST have a motive, otherwise the choice woudln't be made. you can't say you ddin't have a motive to let him in front because if you didn't then you wudlnt have let him in front... there is no such thing as action without reason.
- selfishness = acting with regard to oneself
- because any action we make has a motive relating to us, it also makes anything we do selfish.. as we do it for a reason.
- in effect.. what im saying is that selflessness isn't a thing.. it is made up
- complete selflessness = inability to perform an action..
- if you really had no reason to let him in front of you.. then you woudln't have.. its obvious.. the thought woudln't have even crossed your mind

 

Self interest is not the same thing as being selfish. The Dali Lama said there is such thing as wise selfishness.

Peace and love

 

every action has to fit into the selfish or selfless catogery.
therefore i think we can safely say that self interest as apossed to the interest of others.. is in the selfish catogery.
and wise selfishness.. is still selfishness

 

Why do you say that all actions must either be selfish or selfless? This a view of dualism, something that I do not believe in. I do not understand where you are coming from.

Peace and love

 

think of selfishness and selflessness as stereotypes of behaviour..
you can't denie that everything falls into one or the other..
they have too..

its like trying to denie that a number is either odd or even...

if you believe that there is such a thing as selfishness and selflessness then everything MUST fit into one or the other...

it either self regards, or doesn't ..

 

I do not believe that way. I hope one day you will be able to look beyond your concepts of selfishness. Attachment to concepts is a major obstical to freedom.

Peace and love

 

why do you speak like a horoscope

 

Why do you compare me to a horoscope?

Peace and love

 

if one sees that their self is transient, and all that matters is their actions, self-service is no longer important.