True Altruism is nonexistent. There's no such thing. |
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A month, two months, meh. |
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True Altruism is nonexistent. There's no such thing. |
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I agree with Exo (cringe) |
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---o--- my DCs say I'm dreamy.
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Abraxas
Originally Posted by OldSparta
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Dream Journal: Dreamwalker Chronicles Latest Entry: 01/02/2016 - "Hallway to Haven" (Lucid)(Or see the very best of my journal entries @ dreamwalkerchronicles.blogspot)
Well thats the whole thing about Altruism. In order for an act to be truly Altruistic, there needs to be no selfish feeling, desire or fulfillment what so ever, whether it's primary motivation or not. This includes feeling good or noble, or even not so but feeling you've done whats right or acted on your beliefs. That is why true Altruism doesn't exist. |
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Personally, I don't think the word was ever meant to be taken to such an extreme. I interpret it to mean someone putting aside (more immediate) self-interests to do for others (physical well-being, a priori assumptions, personal feelings, etc.). To me, it seems that "well, after you do it, you're going to feel good about yourself, so that's the underlying factor that makes what you did selfish" - even if that person gave up all of their possessions to someone who needed them more - a reliance on a technicality, than it does a true refutation of altruism. |
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Dream Journal: Dreamwalker Chronicles Latest Entry: 01/02/2016 - "Hallway to Haven" (Lucid)(Or see the very best of my journal entries @ dreamwalkerchronicles.blogspot)
If that's the case, then we're simply arguing semantics. |
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Was the example Oneironaut gave not altruistic? |
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No, because as I outlined, by the definition of Altruism even if any feeling of good or fulfillment is not the primary motivation, if it is even simply something because of the act. It is not truly Altruistic. There will always be motivation and thus fulfillment, including feelings of good or acting on beliefs or what is right. |
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Is it not you making the term extreme? |
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Again, I disagree. |
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Last edited by Oneironaut Zero; 05-17-2009 at 07:01 PM.
Dream Journal: Dreamwalker Chronicles Latest Entry: 01/02/2016 - "Hallway to Haven" (Lucid)(Or see the very best of my journal entries @ dreamwalkerchronicles.blogspot)
But it still does result in chief relation to the self, even if indirectly. If you act on your beliefs, it is simply that. Act on what you believe is good, its that. Help someone because you want to, same deal. In the end it all relates back to you. There's nothing wrong with any of that, and its still admirable and commendable. |
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But this is not about the definition of egoism. It is about the definition of Altruism. |
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Last edited by Oneironaut Zero; 05-17-2009 at 08:21 PM.
Dream Journal: Dreamwalker Chronicles Latest Entry: 01/02/2016 - "Hallway to Haven" (Lucid)(Or see the very best of my journal entries @ dreamwalkerchronicles.blogspot)
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Last edited by ExoByte; 05-17-2009 at 08:31 PM.
I'm not ignoring it (though I suppose I haven't touched on it). |
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Dream Journal: Dreamwalker Chronicles Latest Entry: 01/02/2016 - "Hallway to Haven" (Lucid)(Or see the very best of my journal entries @ dreamwalkerchronicles.blogspot)
has parenting never driven parents insane? |
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As a preliminary aside, most of the abstract benefits presumably accrued by the altruist are ultimately reducible to good feelings (although obviously there is little need to reduce concrete benefits such as monetary gain to the level of feelings). For example, helping someone due to a sense of obligation to do so (whether by societal standards, personal morals, or whatever) is related to good feelings in that neglecting to help would be violating those standards, which would result in negative feelings -- so helping would be a type of 'negative reinforcement' in that it removes the negative feelings associated with violating societal/moral standards. |
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Last edited by DuB; 05-18-2009 at 06:28 AM.
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Last edited by nerve; 05-18-2009 at 06:39 AM.
Ignorant bliss is an oxymoron; but so is miserable truth.
Are those questions answerable by anyone? How exactly does one go about measuring expectations that they are supposedly unaware of? That view point considered leaves the entire argument for true altruism at a dead end (at least currently). What is there that philosophers have universally been able to agree on? Anything at all? |
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Yes, but it's not enough to say people are "genuinely aware of plight of other people." To understand this as it pertains to pure altruism, you need to understand what makes them genuinely aware of it, what makes them empathic. If a person is aware of the plight of other people because of guilt, their actions are motivated entirely by their own self-interest. At this level the whole concept of social conditioning comes into play, and to truly get anywhere in this kind of debate we would need to look at the kind of values that have become inseparable from the western world in terms of the plight of other people. |
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"one cannot destroy the ego with the ego." |
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