Viewing Thread:
"Selfishness"

I think every single person in the World is 100% selfish, yes even charities because ultimatly are these charities not being selfish because if there going to be nice and helpful there guarantied a place in heaven.

Unless there is actually a non religious charity.

I suppose you're right. Everything is ultimately done for the satisfacton of the person, or else they would not do it... :S

But nobody helps others and feels nothing. It could be the interaction with other people, seeing the response of the people being helped, being valued, being in a position of some authority - ultimately it stilll comes down to selfishness.

No not necessarily. If people help with charity, they could just be doing it to help others. Not everyone does it so that it makes them feel good and that they have done a good thing.

I see however what you are saying, a lot of people's motives are probably this.

Because everyone does something for a reason. Even if someone does charity work just to help people, then helping people makes them feel a certain way, in other words they help so as to feel that way, which is ultimately selfish.

Heaven has absualtuely fcuk all to do with this topic Gigs...

Gigs wrote:
> No im saying that charities are helpful but they have a ultimate
> reason for doing it, its not just that they want to do it. They may
> just want to get into heaven.

What if you're an atheist and you don't believe in heaven? How can good things you do be selfish then?

Gigs wrote:
> No im saying that charities are helpful but they have a ultimate
> reason for doing it, its not just that they want to do it. They may
> just want to get into heaven.

But heaven only exists in one faith anyway, and judging from how some charities carry on I doubt it'd be viewed as a positive activity in every case anyway.

Charities, ultimately, seek to justify their existence and work by finding problems and issues around the world which they deem as being in need. The problem is some issues actually do get resolved, leaving the problem; does a charity disband, or change itself to find more problems ? The same goes for other NGO's and protest groups.

As in all things, I believe some people do genuinelly do a good job and do so out of a desire to help people, they're not being selfish just because they gain something from doing it because if no one gained anything from anything then no one would do anything in the first place.

Others however, view it as a nice well paying job in an office.

But you can say the same about every type of work really, not just charities. It's like at University. Some lecturers just do the lecture and that's it, others come with a powerpoint presentation, handouts, key readings lists. When it comes to essays, some lecturers will insist you only see them in office hours they have scheduled for students to see them, others will go over essay plans, suggest changes and see you any time as long as they are free. Strangely the ones who help more probably see their classes get higher grades, which reflects on them. Are they selfish or just helpful ? Maybe either or both. Ultimately, if the students get better marks does it matter ? Same with charities, if they do some good then who cares really ?

Gigs wrote:
> Yet another helpful point from the Emp.

I aim to please.

Emperor Xerxes wrote:
> On what!? That all people are selfish!?

Yes.

Gigs wrote:
> No im saying that charities are helpful but they have a ultimate
> reason for doing it, its not just that they want to do it. They may
> just want to get into heaven.

So what if they do (By the way, do you know ever aid/charity worker on this planet to make such a wide based assumption?) they're still helping people which is a darn sight more than most of us.