RE: Purpose of life
March 22, 2012 at 12:24 pm
(This post was last modified: March 22, 2012 at 12:25 pm by NoMoreFaith.)
(March 22, 2012 at 11:59 am)genkaus Wrote: If the primary motivation of the mother is fulfilling her own needs and carrying the baby happens to be a way to do it, then the action is selfish, not altruistic.
If you ensure a "utterly selfish" or "utterly altruistic" extreme model, you could also argue the case selfless altruism does not really exist either.
All actions generally originate in terms of some selfish need or requirement to be fulfilled or expectation of reciprocity. Much like the selfish gene, whilst not promoting any sort of will upon it, the reasons to help others are rooted in your own self-serving instincts whether you mean to or not.
Certainly exceptions can be argued, but they are rare. Your argument is that altruism must mean that you do not live life to the fullest, which I dispute. Many people would consider that having a child is part of a full life, to them at least, although by no means a universal.
The tradition and acceptance of the golden rule of morality is steeped in this selfish altruism, in that we sacrifice some of our own happiness in order to prevent others from harm, and by doing so, protect a non-chaotic state which allows us to live our life fully in other ways. Contributing to social disorder is understood on some level to detract from our fulfillment of a full life.
More to the point, while linguistically an oxymoron, it describes the majority of interactions which are rarely purely hedonistic or selfless.
Self-authenticating private evidence is useless, because it is indistinguishable from the illusion of it. ― Kel, Kelosophy Blog
If you’re going to watch tele, you should watch Scooby Doo. That show was so cool because every time there’s a church with a ghoul, or a ghost in a school. They looked beneath the mask and what was inside?
The f**king janitor or the dude who runs the waterslide. Throughout history every mystery. Ever solved has turned out to be. Not Magic. ― Tim Minchin, Storm
If you’re going to watch tele, you should watch Scooby Doo. That show was so cool because every time there’s a church with a ghoul, or a ghost in a school. They looked beneath the mask and what was inside?
The f**king janitor or the dude who runs the waterslide. Throughout history every mystery. Ever solved has turned out to be. Not Magic. ― Tim Minchin, Storm
