Those who criticize selfishness rarely if ever advocate total lack of love, emotions or care for oneself. They criticize what they see as excessive, unbalanced selfishness.
The Unselfishness TrapfareJune 21 2008, 23:09:58 UTC
"excessive" as compared to what? "unbalanced" according to what scale? Those who criticize selfishness don't think, they emote. They do not try to convince, they try to manipulate others - into subservience to their own selfish comfort. They present selfishness as something essentially bad, that may be "natural" and "necessary" but must otherwise be repressed. They promote the basic justification for all oppression and mass criminality in the world.
Selfishness is the measure of all good in the world. There cannot be any good whatsoever without a self to feel it. WHO is whatever "altruistic" oppression ever good for? No one. Why is gratuitous vandalism or well-intentioned mass murder bad? Not because it is selfish, but precisely because it hurts other people's selfish interest.
Re: The Unselfishness Trap
anonymous
June 22 2008, 16:25:34 UTC
Of course, criticism for selfishness can be used as a justification for oppression. That is unselfishness trap you speak about. However, it still doesn't mean that criticism is invalid in all circumstances.
If one is willing to kill unknown man to steal his $500 and buy, say, TV, can we agree that he is excessively selfish?
Re: The Unselfishness TrapfareJune 22 2008, 16:58:20 UTC
That man isn't particularly selfish. Everyone wants $500. You yourself probably go through a lot of trouble to get much more money than that. As far as selfish ambition goes, this man has next to none.
The obvious problem is not that he is selfish, but that he is particularly oblivious to other people's selfishness. He is a psychopath. He is the enemy of others, and he's pitting others against him. Others will react and try very hard to catch him and will eventually get him if he makes killing a habit. He'll have to hide and take the risk to fight, go to prison and be executed. All in all, not only is he not selfish, but he's probably lacking in care for his future self. His problem is not an excess of selfishness but a huge lack of it.
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Selfishness is the measure of all good in the world. There cannot be any good whatsoever without a self to feel it. WHO is whatever "altruistic" oppression ever good for? No one. Why is gratuitous vandalism or well-intentioned mass murder bad? Not because it is selfish, but precisely because it hurts other people's selfish interest.
Reply
If one is willing to kill unknown man to steal his $500 and buy, say, TV, can we agree that he is excessively selfish?
Reply
The obvious problem is not that he is selfish, but that he is particularly oblivious to other people's selfishness. He is a psychopath. He is the enemy of others, and he's pitting others against him. Others will react and try very hard to catch him and will eventually get him if he makes killing a habit. He'll have to hide and take the risk to fight, go to prison and be executed. All in all, not only is he not selfish, but he's probably lacking in care for his future self. His problem is not an excess of selfishness but a huge lack of it.
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