Is The Nature Of Mankind Inherently Selfish

People are born into this world crying and wanting only for themselves. As children, humans retain the same selfishness. Without regard for the others around them, they throw tantrums and fight until they obtain the object of their desire. This behaviour was essential for survival when humans were at their most primitive state, left to fend for themselves against the hostile world and each other. But as humans have united together, communities have been created where selfishness is not needed; due to the generosity and kindness that is valued by the community's members. Although humans have put value of kindness and generosity well above selfishness, it has not combatted the “default-setting”, mentioned in This is Water by David Foster Wallace.

Think of selfishness like quicksand the deeper you get into it the harder it is to get out.In

As cynical as it sounds, I believe that it is particularly enlightening and interesting to think of every person on Earth as wanting the best for himself or herself. This way of thinking is what economists use when they analyze the reasons for the economic events of the world. In fact, self-interest is frequently used in explaining certain phenomenon in The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford.

We are the victims of our own poisons: to those toxic manifestations we seek to remedy, but only medicate; often only sedating. To that poison which gives one the desire to target those who falsely attest to fabricating panaceas for countering the opiate we facilitate and foster within our own minds; and the ensuing impulse to eliminate those mistaken instigators, rather than simply ignoring the charlatans into oblivion. This selfish thing, selfishness, is that poison from which we derive from our desires, and in allowing selfishness to flourish unchecked, or blaming its conception on surrogates, we deprive ourselves the beneficence of our own self-interest. In pursuing self-interest we avoid the caustic nature of selfishness, and regardless of the ire self-interest may arouse in some groups (utilitarianists, collectivists, etc), it remains the only true panacea to combat the savagery that often results from selfishness.

The thought of spring break brings up images of partying in warm weather, drunken one-night stands, and the raging hangovers that follow; yet for Rachel Garneau, a junior at Notre-Dame, it represented an pseudo-holiday opportunity for giving, and give she did. This twenty year old gave up a kidney for a complete stranger. There was an air of psychosis to her as she walked right into the University Of Chicago’s Bernard Mitchell Hospital, calm as ever; her demeanor quite indifferent, her nonchalance quite unnerving. Funny how we find this act of complete altruism ‘weird’; because it is weird, all that we know from evolution, Darwinism, basic human tendencies, and even the

Humans are extremely greedy and selfish creatures. Whether or not someone is single, there will always be people who try to get what, and who they want, even at the expense of others. We as humans are naturally attracted to each other, and have many different techniques for showing romantic or sexual interest. In the movie, Fatal Attraction, featuring Glenn Close as Alex, a woman who suffers from borderline personality disorder, shows a possible example of what can happen when one person pursues someone who is in a relationship, and how an affair can lead to disaster. The act of intruding on a couple’s relationship by wooing one of the individuals is called “Mate Poaching.” Although it hasn’t always been called “mate poaching”, the act has

All humans are selfish on instinct, the will to survive being an innate trait all humans are born with, but most people don’t give this selfishness a second thought despite having the brain power to do so. It has become so natural for people to act based on their own personal interests that someone who observes more than acts can see the consequences that come with that way of living. In my life I observe far too many people around me making selfish decisions to only benefit themselves. I can willingly admit I’m not the pinnacle of selflessness either, since selfishness is a survival mechanism that is deeply ingrained in the human DNA, but I spare people second thoughts and glances. I instill deep emotional value and strive towards being a

This is due to the selfishness that lies within human motives. By examining altruistic actions in society, politics, and economics, we can determine that many acts of seemingly altruistic behavior are driven by ulterior, selfish motives.

“ME ME ME” “How does this help me?” “Wait what do I get out of this” “Of course I deserve it” “I want it” “I need it” “Just give it to me,” said Erin Ronald. This quote describes selfishness because it is the contrary of generosity and solidarity, and the excess of love to oneself and the lack of group values. Knowing the world, is essential for a person’s life. Many times, we do not understand how a society works, how people work, how our life goes, how the present goes, etc. As a result of all of them, we can experience certain anguish that appears when it wants but with relatively frequency, such as: Why do I do what I do? Am I happy? Who I am? For all of these I have proposed to write this philosophical paper about what I believe the causes are and what might help to accommodate the selfishness we are facing now in New York City. Survival, cultural and parental influence, and manners are the causes why people in this city are selfish. It would be difficult to change our society with this paper, but I believe that this reflection is the best method to redirect a life from all areas and ages.

“ Humans are naturally virtuous or selfish” becomes a popular topic to the society now day. Humans are mostly narrow-minded because people are indifference towards each other, people injure each other and humans damage the environment awfully. People are apathetic to each other because individual focus on their phones instead of talk with others. People like the things which are good for themselves, so people will always try their best to gain interests although sometime will hurt others, this can prove people are selfish. Animals and plants are all living on the earth with humans, but people damage the environment which humans living in. People not only harm to other people, but also hurting nature.

The question of the morality of government has been one ever since the first prehistoric humans came together to form bands of nomads. This question was especially something the ancient Greek philosophers argued over as they were ruled by a patriarchal democracy. Plato and later Aristotle grappled with this question over who should rule and what various forms or kinds of rule would look like. Aristotle mentions a few various true forms of government such as a kingship, aristocracy, and polity as well as their perverted forms such a tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy. The perverted forms are the same as the true ones only the true forms rule for the common interest and the perverted forms rule only to benefit the ruler(s). This represents

Aristotle criticized Plato’s theory and doubted that it was viable for one man to know of the interests of all and also to be entrusted with so much power but would not abuse it. This conversation that began thousands of years ago has recorded succinct inputs from many other thinkers and scholars. In relatively recent history, the formation of government in America in the late 1700s sparked a quite intense conversation along the same lines. For example, Alexander Hamilton wrote a treatise on the form of government that he believed was the best for a democratic people. Hamilton backed a presidential form of government that had powers vested in one man and not a group of few powerful men as is the case in a parliamentary system.

Why is humanity so greedy? The simple answer to that is the fact that we have the desire to provide for our family and ourselves. Greed usually has a bad connotation; it is not always an excessive reaction to an excessive problem. Taflinger says that Greed is necessary in our culture to a certain extent (“The Sociological Basis of Greed” 1). Every person needs some degree of greed to survive (“I Want It, I Want It Now” 1). Once we fulfill our basic needs, we search for a way to fulfill our wants. We have such a surplus of resources that often times our wants get confused as needs. When we can no longer satisfy the burning hunger of our wants, we become more and more greedy. We strive to fill the gaping hole inside us that

Human nature dictates that every action, no matter how selfless it appears, is inspired by a selfish reason. Selfishness is a personality trait that every human has. Despite what people may believe, selfishness is a part of us and is the driving force behind decisions we make. According to the Oxford dictionary being selfish is being “concerned with one's own interests or pleasure.” People make decisions based on what they desire. They live as if the effect of their actions is non-important. All that matters is the benefits they will obtain even if they know that the end result can have negative consequences. Selfishness is all around us and without it there would be no motivation for humans to do anything. The extent of these selfish

In each form of government, the role of the citizen and the organization of the infrastructure varied (Somerville and Santoni 70). Depending on the type of government, there can be good citizens who are bad people (or vice versa) (Somerville and Santoni 69), but in the best form of government, which he calls the polity, the good man is also the good citizen (Somerville and Santoni 75). The “least desirable forms of government,” Aristotle suggests, were corrupted versions of the best governments because they act in their own interest as opposed to the interests of the many (Sterling).