| Unselfish acts - Do they exist? One of the most common criticisms in our society is that of greed or selfishness. My proposition is that all beings are continually selfish except in the case of basic insanity, so the accusation of selfishness in pointless.
The argument is different for religious and non-religious people, but it gets to the same point.
Religious:
-------------------------------------------------
Basically all religions that I am aware of include the idea of giving to others - performing unselfish acts. Most faiths require it. These "unselfish" acts would seem to contradict my theory, but lets examine the motives behind these "unselfish" acts. People do unselfish acts because they beleive it is the morally correct thing to do. Religious people care about morals because they are dictated by a higher power. The higher power meets our rewards and punishments based on adhereance to morality. The moteve is selfish, therefore the act is selfish.
-------------------------------------------------
Non-Religious
-------------------------------------------------
It is the basic biological imperitive of all organisms to self-prepetuate and pass on their genes. That is the driving evolutionary force that shapes our bodies and behaviours - surviving to mate. Everything our bodies are made and instinct-driven to do is for that self-serving purpose. A mother self sacraficing for a child is merely defending her genes. Sacraficing for a friend is a basic evolutionary urge to defend traits similar to your own.
Evolution does not allow for the existance of a non-selfish action because it would be selected against.
-------------------------------------------------
Fixed ideas are like a cramp in the foot - the best remedy against it is to tread on it.
-Søren Kierkegaard |