Poll: Are Humans Always Selfish?

[A random person]

People are selfish as natural selection would demand, needing food and all, but we also have altruistic tendencies as displayed by the sheer amount of charity in the world.

Of course, there isn't a simple answer to this.

 

[Pimppeter2]

Isn't that Realism rather than egoism or selfishness?

 

[crudus]

Answer is not that simple. What about clans? You have to be selfless to protect and promote your clan. Loners have to be selfish to survive.

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

The first two options in this poll ("humans are selfish" and "humans are unselfish") are frankly absurd since they posit that all humans everywhere are the same, which is simply not true in ANY sense except the basic genetic one. Black-heartedly cynical as I am about the fundamental flaws of mankind, I can't call all humans selfish after thinking even for only a few seconds about the many selfless sacrifices made by humans throughout history- just think of Mr Lawrence Oates. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Oates] But the sheer selfishness of our species as a whole (we're RAPING this planet and refusing to stop because it would inconvenience us a bit) as well as so many members of it, people who care about NOTHING other than themselves and their own pleasures, makes it equally impossible to declare humans to be unselfish. So clearly the answer is FAR more complicated than merely "selfish" vs "unselfish".

 

[NeutralDrow]

How do you define selfishness? Any action at all can be labeled as the product of self-interest. If a man is pointing a gun at my girlfriend and I tackle him over a cliff, couldn't that be described as my desire to have a person important to me live, and not wanting to face the prospect of lacking her?

Of course, selfishness defined that broadly completely drains the term of any sort of meaningfulness, so I'll say...unequivocally no. Humans are not always selfish.

 

[skywalkerlion]

I'm currently taking a philosophy class and we were talking about Psychological Egoism "...the view that all people are selfish in everything they do, that is, that the only motive anyone ever acts is self-interest. On this view, even when we are acting in ways apparently to benefit others, they are actually motivated by the belief that acting in this way is to their own advantage..." (James Rachels)

Are we, humans, really motivated by selfish reasons?

Personally, I don't think the answer is so simple, but I'd like to see what you think and why

But then you have cases where a soldier will throw himself on a hand grenade to save his squad mates.

And how the hell anyone would do that in their right mind for selfish reasons, I don't know. Sacrifices like that are complicated.

 

[Rawker]

its simple human nature. we are naturally inclined to want things.

 

[Manhattan2112]

NATURALLY we are. But some people try not to be.

 

[Xpwn3ntial]

I'm normally selfish, but if you try and hurt someone I care about, I'll be a meatshield.

 

[Arduras]

I'd say that most people I meet would help out others, as long as there is a minimal cost to them. Or if its family/friend.

Most people are selfish to people they barely know... mostly because its easier to be indifferent than helpful.

Me personally I like to think I'm an unselfish person.
I volunteer and I help people who need it, but hey *waves own flag*

 

[internetzealot1]

Abraham Lincoln denied the existence of selfless acts. When someone pointed out that he had once walked barefoot through a muddy field to untangle a pig from some barbed wire, he replied that he wouldn't have been able to sleep for months if he hadn't.

There is no such thing as a selfless act. Only selfless people.

 

[Slick Samurai]

All humans are selfish in some way, doesn't mean that's bad. It's just human nature to be selfish and to be cautious to different things.

 

[Dancingman]

I love that "It's not that simple" is the most-picked answer, frankly, knowing this to be such a cynical website, I thought everyone would go for selfish. But it's a little of both, it's difficult to be completely selfish, and here's one question: do people who give up things for other people act in selfish ways? Was Mohandas Gandhi a selfish man? The answer is yes, he was selfish, everyone has an element of selfishness within them, selfishness is glorified survival instinct, the desire to succeed and empower oneself above others, but there is selflessness as well. And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[Heracles]

all humans are indeed selfish, no matter what they do, as everything we do is to A) attract mates and or B) fit in.

 

[RobCoxxy]

As a species, we are, on the whole, selfish and greedy, but there is a lot of good in the world.
Not meaning to start a flame war, but the perfect examples of selfishness are with the Christian community: "If I do this good deed, I will go to heaven"

That's not how it should work.

 

[ryai458]

everything we do is in self interest but some times helping someone can be quite helpful for ourselves

 

[Slyvena]

As a species, we are, on the whole, selfish and greedy, but there is a lot of good in the world.
Not meaning to start a flame war, but the perfect examples of selfishness are with the Christian community: "If I do this good deed, I will go to heaven"

That's not how it should work.

Its also NOT how it works, if you are going to quote a religion don't bring your ignorance into it.

Try the line "Salvation by Grace and not by Works" what do you think that means?

 

[TheNumber1Zero]

It is not that simple, people are... people. Each one is a little different from the other, including in how they act when it comes to being selfish. You cannot just say we are one or the other, each one of us is different.

 

[LewsTherin]

As a species, we are, on the whole, selfish and greedy, but there is a lot of good in the world.
Not meaning to start a flame war, but the perfect examples of selfishness are with the Christian community: "If I do this good deed, I will go to heaven"

That's not how it should work.

Trust me, that's not how it works. But this is neither the time nor the place.

I think people are selfish, and people are not selfish. Some times one, sometimes the other. But not usually one all the time.

 

[Buschmaki]

Well you could say we are because it's our survival instinct. Although since we don't have to hoard food anymore we no longer have the need to be selfish unless you're being raised in a 3rd world country.