2007-06-15 11:23:03 · 12 answers · asked by Socrates 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Selflessness....as in being 100% altruistic?? This will never happen in our lifetime..if it does the person doing it is a fool to believe they are doing it....the very act itself is selfish and therefore kills the selflessness definition.
Not even the church woudl require this of anyone. They realize that in order for the church to survive they need people who have money in one form or another. In order to have money you cannot be 100% selfless because you need to be driving toward something.
The closest thing you can get to selflessness....is the person willing to be your slave at no expense to you. If you can find that person you will have your answer....not even Mother Teresa fit that billet.
HECK not even Jesus Christ fit that billet. He was NOT against people doing for themselves...he was aginst people hurting each other and stuff like that but he never said that you couldnt do things for yourself to make your life better.
Selflessness and altruism is a made up thing by the churches so that they can control your after life. They make you believe that if you are not this way that you will have a bad time after you die....what a crock....they are as bad as the government trying to control your life while you are alive.
Everyone is born with the same freedoms etc. Its what you are taught when you are growing up in the society you are in that shapes what your morals and ways of life will be when you grow up. If everyone realized they have their own brain, they can use it, they can make choices and they take responsibiity for those choice then the taught of sleflessness would be completely meaningless.
Maybe you should be educating people about resposibilities. You seem to have a full grasp on the subject...actually a LOT more then most people...good for you...this wil shape your life differently then those around you....watch out..you may become their savior someday
2007-06-18 04:45:53 · answer #1 · answered by jimkearney746 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, in reality selflessness is an illusion! One first has to have the sense of self and selfishness, before one can even begin to move on to selflessness! Selflessness is an illusion as it can not stand on its own merit , it needs the foundation of selfishness first!! If one was 100% selfless one would not exist as we understand existance to be!
2007-06-15 19:03:32 · answer #2 · answered by tonal9nagual 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes. Selfishness is the heart of every move you make. From charity to greed, you are doing these thing for the exact same reason; to get what you want. Our society wants you to strive for freedom from selfishness and reach selflessness. The most selfish acts in history were done in the name of selflessness. The pursuit of the ideal is a perpetual treadmill of misery and creates the most cruel of humans.
2007-06-15 19:22:26 · answer #3 · answered by @@@@@@@@ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Do not confuse altruism with kindness, good will or respect for the rights of others. These are not primaries, but consequences, which, in fact, altruism makes impossible. The irreducible primary of altruism, the basic absolute, is self-sacrifice - which means; self-immolation, self-abnegation, self-denial, self-destruction - which means: the self as a standard of evil, the selfless as a standard of the good..."
Any ideal is an 'illusion', until men choose to act on them...
2007-06-16 00:52:28 · answer #4 · answered by Mr. Wizard 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yeah, it is. When we say someone is being selfless we mean they are doing something to benefit society, or the world, so they are actually doing something to help themselves out by helping society (because they are part of society). If they did something that did not benefit society, then we would call that evil. So, in a weird sort of way: Selflessness = evil.
2007-06-15 18:38:17 · answer #5 · answered by the slightly amusing answers of 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it is an illusion... even, in the case of laying down your life for another, as another contributer stated as an exception. even then, i think we would do it out of a sense of obligation & avoidance of feeling guilty if we did not.... the "right thing to do."
but, i don't think this is a bad thing... things that benefit the individual likely benefit others -- IF the individual's morals & values are socially acceptable.
2007-06-15 18:49:25 · answer #6 · answered by cathyr_1975 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe it can be.
For me about the only time I would say that it is not, is when someone "lays down their life" for another.
Other than that--and for just about all other situations and circumstance, I think that if we believe we are doing, thinking or feeling something completely without us getting some thing out of it, then we are indeed deceiving ourselves and others.
Now, this isn't a 'bad thing' as I believe even God has a "selfish motive" in doing what He/She/It does; and we ALL need "self serving" motives or as some refer to as "win-win" situations in order to motivate us to act not only in the best interest of ourselves, but in the best interests of "the whole" as well.
Regards,
2007-06-15 18:41:36 · answer #7 · answered by smithgiant 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's funny because I've always thought that kind of thinking is what's wrong with the world. I think the type of person who would say that is a selfish capitalist. If everybody just thought about themselves then it would override their instinct to love and reproduce. Selfishness breeds devolution.
2007-06-15 18:51:18 · answer #8 · answered by Cryptosopher 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Total, complete selflessness, yes; but one can still be compassionate and unselfish toward others...
2007-06-16 07:49:30 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess that makes me a master illusionist - take that Criss Angel ;););)
2007-06-15 18:28:42 · answer #10 · answered by kr_toronto 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋