advertisement


Why Selfishness is a Virtue

vuk

\o/ choose anarchy
the american right wing is dangerous, but so are the libertarians:



vuk.

p.s. in case you fail to notice my comment...

tara smith's opening argument in defense of selfishness as a virtue/aspiration begins with: "if you care about peoples [sic] being happy...". this is even lower than a mere quasi-philosophical language game. it's a total contradiction of her fundamental premise. a selfish person, by definition, should place zero weight on the happiness of others. to be fair, if you really, really think about it (including what i've written), we are back to this being merely a useless language game.
 
Last edited:
the american right wing is dangerous, but so are the idiot libertarians:


vuk.

p.s. in case you fail to notice my comment...

tara smith's opening argument in defense of selfishness as a virtue/aspiration begins with: "if you care about peoples [sic] being happy...". this is even lower than a mere quasi-philosophical language game. it's a total contradiction of her fundamental premise. a selfish person, by definition, should place zero weight on the happiness of others. to be fair, if you really, really think about it (including what i've written), we are back to this being merely a useless language game.
vuk any chance of us doing a debate on why ego and conceit is so rife amongst would be scholars question mark and why you think no punctuation help the conceited full stop paragraph

i won apostrophe t use you tube as it is for lazy people who cannot be bothered comma no serious students of life such as yourself full stop
 
Most are inherently selfish, we are animals after all, albeit with a bigger brain capacity. It's in our genes & something we are on a constant battle with.
 
People are not naturally selfish in the family group. Protecting your children, who are the next generation of your genes, ahead your own position makes genetic sense, especially when life span was often short.
 
Everything is a language game.

Nurturing a environment full of happy people that welcome your presence is selfishness at its best!
 
the american right wing is dangerous, but so are the libertarians

I really don't get libertarians. They seem to think that collective governance is the defining problem of our times and if only there were absolutely freedom then everyone would play nice and there would be no mass exploitation by the rich and powerful.

Which planet are they living on ?
 
I see it as a built-in rather than a virtue. Don't base instinct and executive function demand that the self comes first? Maslow's hierarchy of needs covers it pretty well.

Human behavior is all about context. Generally happy and well-fed people can be altruistic and magnanimous, while even the best of people in dire circumstances can be the worst and most selfish entities on the planet. Actually, things don't really even need to be dire for some.
 
The way we are is the result of millions of years of competing evolutionary forces — individual selection on one hand leading to selfish behavior and group selection on the other leading to altruism.

To paraphrase Donnie and Marie, we’re a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll, and we will be ever thus.

Joe
 
Maslow's hierarchy of needs covers it pretty well.

maslow's description of needs is very old pseudo-psychology. nobody has taken it seriously in the field for many decades now, although it did stay around in business/marketing textbooks (which also tells you something).
 
maslow's description of needs is very old pseudo-psychology. nobody has taken it seriously in the field for many decades now, although it did stay around in business/marketing textbooks (which also tells you something).
I’ve never thought of it as psychology, but rather as social science, where it was still being taught 10 years ago, to my knowledge.
 
I’ve never thought of it as psychology, but rather as social science, where it was still being taught 10 years ago, to my knowledge.

psychology is part of social science. you will see it referenced in intro texts, but as a historical thing, not viable current theory.
 
If you're watching in France, you get ads. The one on now asks me if I want to know how much my car is worth, which is frighteningly relevant at the moment. You sure the show is about psychology?
 
maslow's description of needs is very old pseudo-psychology. nobody has taken it seriously in the field for many decades now, although it did stay around in business/marketing textbooks (which also tells you something).
It is not wrong because it is unfashionable...
 


advertisement


Back
Top