Are you selfless?

[Hraklea]

Selfless would be:
I will go see your mom on her deathbed, eventhough i hate to see her this way, i know it matters alot to her if im there.

And it will make you feel better to do something that matters to her, right? That's not selflessness. You're doing it for yourself, not her.

[Deleted]

Sure, but I also attribute gaining something by being selfish. Not going solely because meh, clothes, is, in my view, more laziness than being selfish, although they both still apply. And if you intended to use the example as a clear example of being selfish, I'd personally say it wasn't perhaps the best. That's all I was saying with it.

If you have a better one feel free :P

[Halyon]

If you have a better one feel free :P

I added one to my last post, I'm just slow. xD

[JestersShadow]

Nodody that says they are selfless is selfless, by the entire definition you can do whatever you want for other people but it is not selfless.

[alt-ithist]

I don't consider doing something you don't like to please someone you love an act of selflessness, pleasing them pleases you so you get something out of it. Now doing something you don't like for someone you don't care about or hate, that to me is selfless. In that regard, hell no I'm not selfless.

[Deleted]

And it will make you feel better to do something that matters to her, right? That's not selflessness. You're doing it for yourself, not her.

Doubtfull.

I went with one of my sisters to her grandma´s last coffin sighting. She died of cancer. Was half the woman she once was. Awefull sight. Yet i stayed by her because she didnt dare to go alone. I didnt want to, and i regret doing it. But i know she needed it. I didnt gain anything other than remembering that old women as a skeleton instead of a vifit woman.

[wowaccounttom]

Yes. I dont really care about other people, and only use them as I see fit.

However, I believe that everything that an individual does should only be in the race's best interest, with the only except being the planet itself. So planet > humanity > individual

Individuals are just as disposable as tissue paper; men have millions of sperm per ball and women can pop out over 5 new ones during their lives.

[zeemeerman2]

Some of the things I do are selfless in itself, like volunteer work.
But even in those things, I do it for selfish reasons. For instance, I want recognition for my work. Not paid, but even a simple "Thank you for your hard work. Here's a drink on the house."

I once did the maintenance of a Wordpress website for a certain organization as volunteer work.
In the beginning, they were friendly. Later, they became more distant, mailing me with work I should do, only mailing again if it wasn't done exactly to their needs. Never a compliment or recognition, only more work. Even work that could easily be done by a professional webdesigner asking 500+ euro. But they had me as a volunteer, and I could do it for free.
I like webdesign, programming is a hobby of mine, so don't get mistaken. But they just took advantage of me, because I did free work for them and could ask nothing in return as a volunteer.

At one point, I just quit. Never had any contact with them any more.


So basically, am I selfless? I don't think so. I don't care much about money, but I want respect for the work I do. I think that is a selfish reason.
The act might be selfless, but the reason is selfish.

[TZK203]

Doubtfull.

I went with one of my sisters to her grandma´s last coffin sighting. She died of cancer. Was half the woman she once was. Awefull sight. Yet i stayed by her because she didnt dare to go alone. I didnt want to, and i regret doing it. But i know she needed it. I didnt gain anything other than remembering that old women as a skeleton instead of a vifit woman.

Sure, you might believe it to be selfless, but think about the alternative if you hadn't had stayed. Perhaps your sister would have not been happy with you or something, and you felt the alternative would be worse for you than just being there and enduring the pain. You still did this for yourself, only trying to mitigate any potential consequences your actions may impose upon you.

It's like my father back when he forced me to swim before I had my chance to stop doing that horrid sport. Should I endure the pain now, even though I hate it, instead of arguing with him and knowing that convincing him is a nigh-impossible matter? What would be the better option for me?

[Archangel Tyrael]

I'm not selfless, I'm very selfish, I've always been so.

[Aeno]

Depends if you're an ethical egoist or not, Ms. Ayn Rand.

Jokes aside, no. I am not selfless, of course, with the exception being for my loved ones.

[Hraklea]

I went with one of my sisters to her grandma´s last coffin sighting. She died of cancer. Was half the woman she once was. Awefull sight. Yet i stayed by her because she didnt dare to go alone. I didnt want to, and i regret doing it. But i know she needed it. I didnt gain anything other than remembering that old women as a skeleton instead of a vifit woman.

Yet you choose to go. Which means it was the best choice for you when you made the choice. Saying that you regret it doesn't make it selfless.

[Independent voter]

I go to family events even though I don't want to. That makes me more selfless than the person who wants to go. Who wants to listen to aunt Agnes relate her thyroid surgery? Sometimes it's a burden to do the right thing.

[Temp name]

Oh, I'm extremely selfish. I really don't do anything unless I can see a benefit for myself. Sometimes that means I'll do things for friends, because I expect them to do some things for me as well. But that also means I'm really hard to get out of the door for anything..

[Arcanimus]

I'm selfish.

I hate people, and until someone dissuades me, will continue to do so.

I also kick puppies.

[Deleted]

I am so selfish, I am selfless.
I am a registered organ and blood marrow donour. Selfless? Nah, I just buy right to feel better about me and a way to show to others how moral I am.
I wrote website for a conference for free. Selfless? Nah, the previous plus a nice CV reference.
I organized a charity event. The previous.

Selfishness is not an opposite of selflessness.

[Aeno]

I still eat my husbands blueberry pancakes every Sunay morning. I fucking HATE pancakes. He has no idea.

I'm going to tell on you.

[Aeno]

It will be tragic to him.

Immanuel Kant would argue that lying in any case is deplorable; the truth must be known, for if such a world existed, trust and community would not exist, and thus society itself would not exist. Lying would also undermine your own efforts to lie. It is the right thing! (To Deontologists)

[3DTyrant]

We all have moments of selfishness and selflessness, I don't care who you are, it's true.

[Reeve]

Not especially no, nor do I think it's a particularly admirable concept. Helping others is all well and good, but take care of yourself first.