Discussion 'There's no such thing as a selfless act.' Discuss

[Forever Sleep]

It makes sense to a degree. People who do a lot for others perhaps partly do it to feel good about themselves. I think many people only give with the expecation of receiving. Sometimes we feel a sense of obligation to help others- even if we don't truly want to. Sometimes we may even feel resentment after giving too much of ourselves.

So- what do you think? Is there such a thing as a truly selfless act?

 

[The anhedonic one]

I think the vast majority of so-called selfless acts are transactional in nature.
Yet truly selfless acts come from a place of true compassion. For instance if I saw someone in genuine poverty unable to buy food, I couldn't turn away from them, and would need to help them without any need for an emotional reward.

 

[ggetout33]

If I may be honest, every action done by a person is self-serving in some way.

Even as small as making themselves feel good, seeing their visions become reality, or seeing others they care about happy and cared for.

But what matters more than the intention of the person is how their action served others or the world around them. Bad people have done good things. And as the famous saying goes: The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Good people have done some evil shit because they weren't careful, didn't know what they were doing, or stuck their business where it didn't need to be.