Selfless, or Selfish?
Many people use the phrase...
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Selfless, or Selfish?
Many people use the phrase "selfless" regularly, in their daily lives. However, true selflessness does not exist.
Dictionary.com defines "selfless" as being "unselfish."
That is to say that for something to be truly selfless, it must have absolutely no selfish aspects.
We humans, whether we like to admit it or not, are entirely self-centered. Each, and every choice that we make is done so based on our own desires.
I'll elaborate on this:
Every action that we perform is done so by our brains sending commands to perform said action. If your conscious brain sends commands for you to perform an action, it is because you consciously decided to perform that action. And if someone chooses to perform an action, then that is not a selfless act. Rather, it is merely one of many completely selfish acts that we perform on a regular basis. By "selfish," I mean to say that these acts are for one's own personal self interest, whether this personal gain is physical or mental.
One potential argument against this is the argument that, "we do not have the desire to do things that we are forced to do, such as aid a criminal at gunpoint." However, the person's conscious weighs the perceived consequences of his, or her, possible actions, and he, or she, makes a choice on which act to take. The choice is still there. And all conscious choices are acted upon by our desires.
One may "want" to do something and decide not to do it, but the action that is chosen was done so by one's internal desires. For instance, one may want to punch me in the face right now, but if that person decides not to do so, it is because that person's internal self desires are greater than their initial desire. In the end, whichever action is chosen and performed consciously is a selfish act.
People that do acts of charity, whether it be donating time and money, or risking one's life for another, do so out of their own self interest. Not only are we evolutionarily developed to bond with members of the same species, but we also feel compelled to help others, due to empathy, and we are also rewarded by good feelings when doing acts that help others.
One could argue that, "people risk their lives in times of crisis and don't think about the consequences." In cases like these, the frontal lobe of the brain that processes perceived reality becomes inactive, and adrenaline causes the internal subconscious brain to take control over actions of the body that would otherwise be controlled consciously.
In a sense, the only true selfless acts would be done subconsciously.
But I would refuse to call a subconscious act truly selfless. It would neither be selfless nor selfish, because conscious thought would not be used.
Ironically, our very consciousness is what makes selflessness impossible.
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