Can anyone give an example of an act that has no selfish motives? This would be a selfless act.
Everything has a selfish incentive somewhere. It may be something concrete, like recognition or it is something more abstract like personal satisfaction.
Unless you're a robot.
Psychological Egoism you speak of
Psychological egoism is the view that humans are always motivated by self-interest, even in what seem to be acts of altruism. It claims that when people choose to help others, it is ultimately because of the personal benefits they themselves expect to obtain, directly or indirectly, from doing so.
I really don't buy into all that jazz though . . . meh . . .
I don't think it benefits us directly, it's more or less a little reassurance. And that's not motivated completely by self-interest, every act of selflessness has a little shard of conceit in there, not much, but a little.
Wow you guys got where i was going at with this. .... But yeah it is near impossible for an act to be selfless. Every act has a selfish motive, whether it be a bad act or a good act. So far no one that i asked has given me an act that has no selfish motive.
When you save someone`s life (for example, you see someone drowning and you jump in to pull that person to safety, maybe even apply CPR if needed), does that count as selfish? I don`t see anything selfish in that.
There is nothing like selfless act...by every act you can gain. It might be selfless if you are not thinking about getting something of it. Well let's say child is drowning you usually don't think that oh yeah Im going to be a hero. You just jump. But there is possibility you do it for unconscious personal gain.
I don't believe in selfless acts. Take the people who devote their lives to help children in Africa who are victims of AIDS. I don't think they're less selfless than me, who choose not to devote my life. It's because they enjoy helping them, so they gain something. It's not the same I gain from doing whatever else, but to them it's what they want. The same goes for anything. You won't meet a person who hates helping someone working in the salvation army, or a person who hates animals work with Greenpeace. It doesn't work that way, because anyone who helps someone does it because they get some sort of satisfaction from it.
(note: not discussing whether they're better people or not, as that's a matter of definition. Although personally, I'd say they are, seeing as for me, it's the result not the intentions that define it.)
AegenemmnoN;4569244JESUS! Wooo!
Heh, even if you don't believe the bible, I'd say that giving your life for others is the ultimate selfless act.