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Self Interest
I think self interest is the primary driving force of humanity. Without self interest we seem to be depressed or live empty. A lot of people get into religion for self interest. Those few happy people who lack self interest are happy pleasing others, why? because those people are happy by seeing other people happy. Those people are fulfilling their own self interest by helping others.
Religious people seek enlightenment for themselves, and salvation for themselves. Atheist people live for themselves by living out and accomplishing their own goals in life. All people live and work hard every single day out of self interest. In hope that their creation and effort will come of something. Why? because they can.
People climb mountans out of self interest, people blow up mountains out of self interest, people gain a living out of self interest, people kill out of self interest, and people save out of self interest. And, people DIE out of lack of self interest.
The most depressed people you'll see lack purpose, self-esteem, and self interest. We view the world as we view ourselves. So, if we hate ourselves, why wouldn't we hate the world?
I made this post out of self interest, in learning more about myself, to see if I'm right. Do you agree or disagree?
I would very much appreciate any opinions on this statement.
Last edited by Lobo23 on Wed Sep 12, 2007 10:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
Religious people seek enlightenment for themselves, and salvation for themselves. Atheist people live for themselves by living out and accomplishing their own goals in life. All people live and work hard every single day out of self interest. In hope that their creation and effort will come of something. Why? because they can.
People climb mountans out of self interest, people blow up mountains out of self interest, people gain a living out of self interest, people kill out of self interest, and people save out of self interest. And, people DIE out of lack of self interest.
The most depressed people you'll see lack purpose, self-esteem, and self interest. We view the world as we view ourselves. So, if we hate ourselves, why wouldn't we hate the world?
I made this post out of self interest, in learning more about myself, to see if I'm right. Do you agree or disagree?
I would very much appreciate any opinions on this statement.
Last edited by Lobo23 on Wed Sep 12, 2007 10:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
yes but what about the way humans started out.
When we were cavemen we didn't have just self interest. We HAD to learn different ways of hunting and building shelters to survive therefore maybe self interest is a big driving force of humanity now but back then i think it was less so.
It seems to be a major part in every day life though.
When we were cavemen we didn't have just self interest. We HAD to learn different ways of hunting and building shelters to survive therefore maybe self interest is a big driving force of humanity now but back then i think it was less so.
It seems to be a major part in every day life though.
| divinitywolf wrote: |
| yes but what about the way humans started out.
When we were cavemen we didn't have just self interest. We HAD to learn different ways of hunting and building shelters to survive therefore maybe self interest is a big driving force of humanity now but back then i think it was less so. It seems to be a major part in every day life though. |
Actually back then, it was in their best interest to be alive. They didn't have to live, but they did. The WANTED to live.
No one alive today is forced to live for anything but their own choice, that goes for back then too.
So actually on the contrary. Self interest was so much of a driving force that they learned new things that started out a way of life. Great stuff huh?
| Lobo23 wrote: |
| And, people DIE out of lack of self interest.
The most suicidal people you'll see lack purpose, self-esteem, and self interest. |
i had to single this out to question it.
The current wave of suicide attacks in the world are almost entirely done by Muslim extremists - that includes 9/11, Israel, Iraq, and so on. These people are willing to kill themselves because of the promise of paradise in the next life - the oft-mentioned virgins, for example.
How is that a lack of self-interest? It seems to me that that's the height of self-interest. They are willing to kill and main hundreds - even thousands - in order to have for themselves the sweet life in the hereafter.
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But on another, more abstract level, i would have to disagree that self-interest motivates everything. We know, for example, that even animals practise altruism. And there are countless cases of people acting altruistically throughout history. And, in fact, people often act in ways that are self-destructive... which sure seems to contradict the idea of absolute self-interest.
i hear this argument passed around a lot - that everything is ultimately motivated by self-interest - but i don't buy it. Sure, if you try hard enough you can find a post hoc proof that the motivation for just about any behaviour was ultimately self-interest. But post hoc is a bad way to prove things. Post hoc, it's easy to prove a lot of silly things - like that every single accomplishment in human history is ultimately motivated by sexual frustration ("It appears that the architect of that building has erected an Oedipus complex!").
| Indi wrote: | ||
i had to single this out to question it. The current wave of suicide attacks in the world are almost entirely done by Muslim extremists - that includes 9/11, Israel, Iraq, and so on. These people are willing to kill themselves because of the promise of paradise in the next life - the oft-mentioned virgins, for example. How is that a lack of self-interest? It seems to me that that's the height of self-interest. They are willing to kill and main hundreds - even thousands - in order to have for themselves the sweet life in the hereafter. --------------------- But on another, more abstract level, i would have to disagree that self-interest motivates everything. We know, for example, that even animals practise altruism. And there are countless cases of people acting altruistically throughout history. And, in fact, people often act in ways that are self-destructive... which sure seems to contradict the idea of absolute self-interest. i hear this argument passed around a lot - that everything is ultimately motivated by self-interest - but i don't buy it. Sure, if you try hard enough you can find a post hoc proof that the motivation for just about any behaviour was ultimately self-interest. But post hoc is a bad way to prove things. Post hoc, it's easy to prove a lot of silly things - like that every single accomplishment in human history is ultimately motivated by sexual frustration ("It appears that the architect of that building has erected an Oedipus complex!"). |
damn! >,< I forgot entirely about that. I meant the depressed type of suicide. I'll have to edit and correct myself.
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