In article <YBzHe.88054$Kp2.5411500@twister.southeast.rr.com>,
"ta" <padlrnc@nc.rr.com> wrote:
Ron <homo@home.com> wrote in message
news:homo-E9F533.13363201082005@news.isp.giganews.com...
In article <1122911866.494168.5130@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
"ta" <padlrnc@nc.rr.com> wrote:
Ron wrote:
In article <HugHe.83759$Kp2.5134578@twister.southeast.rr.com>,
"ta" <padlrnc@nc.rr.com> wrote:
It seems important to me to distinguish between the two for
philosophical
discussions.
In my mind, "selfishness" is placing one's needs/wants/desires above
everyone else's without regard to the consequences for everyone
else.
Selfishness is also the means that we learn socially to manipulate
others into doing what we want. Its a means of exercising control over
others. So long as you resist the notion of acting selfishly, you are
easily swayed to act the way that another wants. Parents do it
children,
religion does it followers, government does it citizens and so on.
Your selfish for raising this subject. What about the rest of us? What
about what we want? It's all about you!
I don't see how, by my definition, my post is "selfish". I don't
anticipate any negative consequences to anyone by making the post.
Of course not. That would require you to consider that your action was
selfish. Conformation bias would then allow you to ignore any thoughts
of possible harms to support your belief that you are not selfish.
Yeah, I suppose, by my definition, my post was selfish, upon further
reflection. Although there are no negative consequences of my posting, it is
true that I did not consider the consequences of posting before I posted.
Hmm. Unless someone were to tell you of a negative consequence for them,
it is possible that you would overlook such an outcome.
I am okay with any label. You are not. I am at times extremely selfish.
At other times, I am extremely selfless. I am, for the most part, along
a continuum between selfless and selfish.
You seem to prefer the label, or identity of selfless.
Oh hell, I have more than my fair share of selfishness - no question! I was
not claiming to be above selfishness at all; I was just clarifying what
these terms mean. Or more accurately, thinking outloud for discussion's
sake.
I did find it interesting that you related fairness to any perceptions
of your own selfishness.
To act in "self-interest" is simply to act in a way that makes one
feel
good. We all act in our own self-interest at all times (sometimes
the
behaviour is selfish, sometimes it's not). If it feels good, we do
it. But
different things feel good to different people.
For example, the corporate executive who decides to put his
financial
interests ahead of human health impacts by not recalling vehicles
with
exploding gas tanks is selfish (and also acting out of
self-interest).
The volunteer who spends alot of time helping people is not
altruistic -
he's acting out of self-interest (helping people makes him feel
good).
.
