Is everything we do ultimately selfish?

[blaine]

A teacher once asked my class this question and asked the class to sit on one side of the room if the answer was yes, the other side if the answer was no. I took the position that yes, everything we do is ultimately selfish because even if we do something that is considered altruistic, we do it to make us feel good about ourselves. I thought that was a pretty simple truth, although I had not thought about it before then. The class, however, was evenly divided. So, I'm wondering what the IPower community thinks.

[shiroby]

im for yes,

ultimately even when we do things for others, even when their is no visable gain,
its because it makes us feel good.

although the fact that we feel good when we do such things proves were not all that selfish, the question did say ultimately

[Fien]

I'm for yes, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. Of course everything you do is (or should in some way be) a way to contribute to your personal happiness (whether that is doing things you don't like to do because you know they'll be rewarding after a period of time, or just doing things that give you immediate pleasure), even if it is through the idea that you're doing something good for someone else (that too can give you personal satisfaction). So yes, actions are selfish, I think. But there's a difference between the bad kinda selfish and the good kinda selfish. There's nothing bad about doing good for others and I think selfishness is okay as long as it's not something that results in harming other people.

[ZIsWright]

Well said! I concur =)

[Dan]

Good selfishness and bad selfishness. Sounds kind of like fats, good and bad. haha :p

[Miguel Rivera]

OE GRINGOS SONSOS DEJEN DE SER TAN SELFISH OE!!!! MIREN COMO EL MUNDO SE MUERE A SU ALREDEDOR, DEJEN DE PENSAR SOLO EN USTEDES!!!!
LOSE YOURSELVES IN THE WAY, FORGET THEM AT ALL. YOU ARE THE UNIVERSE. WORDS ARE FOR NOTHING, SEX FOR FREE. BE ONE, BE A GOOD GOD IN HUMAN FORM. FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU THINK IS GOOD OR JUST. PREFER NOT TO THINK. WAR IS OVER IF YOU WANT. DON'T FEAR, DON'T PANIC, JUST KEEP FLOATING.
the self
it's nothing at all,
it's always changing,
it's always unknown.

To will is to love,
it's the light,
the music that moves the universe.
Love is what remains.
It's dynamic but it's essentially the same, like fire.

This world is heaven, it's what our will has bring to us instantly.
Look your today, it's what you have always wanted, it's what you've been thinking about all this time.
Always returning, always coming back. It's you in a mirror, it's what you have always loving.
Life is that, everyone fears life so everyone is unhappy.
Give the face to your own desires. The self, it's nothing, it will die someday. But what you love, it will come back always.

Lastly, you love yourself. Stay in silence while everything burns (it's making music for me).

[Miguel Rivera]

our true self is the univrse

[Miguel Rivera]

god, the blank page, whatever you want, whatever you think, whatever you love, bla bla bla

[Fien]

I don't get it...
We still talking about Jesus?

[Dardon]

No.


A deed with no reward is not selfish and to think it is, your cheating youself to be right.

[Fien]

There's always a reward.
The reward being, you'll feel good about yourself.
In that case, selfishness isn't a bad thing; if it makes you do good things for other people. But there's still a reward: you feel better...

[Dardon]

Mmm Yeah I did think of that but, feeling good to some people is making there ego bigger which in that case would make em selfish.. in my opinion.

Not to sound like a school boy but I try not to have positive nor negative emotions when I do a favor.

What's inside sometimes matters more then the act.

[Layfollower]

Feeling good about yourself after helping someone else is not selfish because
1. You are helping another person and
2. You are not helping the other person to put yourself on advantage of that other person or of a group...anyways...you are putting yourself on any advantage what so ever...a feeling can't be selfish