Is it selfish for a person to give to a charity because they want to feel good?
Is it selfish? Yes, but does that make it wrong? Definitely not.Is it selfish to eat a meal, to get a massage, to go for a walk on the beach? To put on a sweater when it’s cold? To find solace in a piece of music? Is it selfish to want to sleep at the end of a long day? To want to make a child laugh? It is easy to make the case there is no true altruism.Some people give to charity for tax advantages, some for prestige & recognition, some as a memorium, some as a favor. Some do it for real value (as in attendance at a fundraising dinner). Some even give as a hedging of bets that such a service will be available if they or a loved one needs it in the future.Selfishness is as much a biological necessary as human connection. It gets a bad name when it is outsized. Better that a person feels good by giving to others. That may be selfish but is to be applauded.
Is giving to charity also a selfish act?
Selfish has two meanings to me the first is selfish in the form of greed or not sharing. The other I call “self-ish” which is taking care of ones self emotionally. Most everything I do in my life is self-ish, not often, and not that I can remember but In past I have been selfish.Everything we do is “self-ish” it takes care of our emotional needs. Giving to someone who is poor, makes me feel good, so I am taking care of my self, through the act of taking care of them. Even giving annomously is self-ish, as it makes us feel good!Everything we do, evokes an emotional reaction. The positive things we do, we create positive feelings, the uncomfortable things we do we have uncomfortable feelings.Taking care of our selves is the most important thing we can do. We are the most important person in the universe, not our children or our parents, it is us. When we take care of us first we can then take care of others. Showing our children the concept of taking care of our selves, and not worrying what others think is a profound lesson for them.So be more self-ish as it feels good!Make today all about your SELF!David
Is being selfish or charitable gentic?
Although not charity per se, tendencies for altruism in primates have been found to be 30-60% genetically determined by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. The non-genetic portion, of course, is determined by upbringing and environment.
Do you think those that believe "charity starts at home" are being selfish? Is it wrong to help yourself first before helping others?
Whenever somebody quotes this to me as an excuse/reason not to give to/do for charity, I try to quote my own interpretation of this adage. Here goes:Charity begins at home - means charity starts within, within our hearts. It means having a charitable attitude towards everyone and everything in our thoughts, words and deeds. It’s much easier to be charitable in words and deeds than it is in thoughts. It’s often the case that you have to get a grip of your way of thinking in order not to think uncharitable (unkind) thoughts about others or situations.This is why, for me, the saying “Charity begins at home” is not an excuse to deny - it is a call to be charitable in all ways or in whichever way you can. Giving freely and willingly is being charitable in thought, word and deed. Giving freely whilst inwardly resenting it is being charitable in word and deed. Giving whilst bemoaning the fact is being charitable in deed. Not giving is not being charitable at all. If you genuinely don’t have money to give, then why not ask if there is something you can do to help - raise awareness, help out physically somewhere, etc.I’ve always lived on a very low income and I’ve always known that whatever money I can afford to give is a pittance. However, when I began to get annoyed at being approached in the street by charity workers asking me to sign up for regular monthly donations from my bank account, workers who were earning double per hour what I was earning, I decided to try to do something more effective. I began doing voluntary youth work in my community. This led to other opportunities to give (of my time and skills) within the community, usually on a non-formal, non-organised basis. I found this far more effective than being able to give a fiver once a month.On the few occasions when I have earned serious amounts of money (facepainting outside rugby international matches), it was great to have money flowing in for a few hours at a time. However, it was obvious that the homeless people and Big Issue sellers struggled more than normal in the city when there was a rugby match on so as I wandered the streets looking for customers, I would try to hand out money to homeless people I came across as I did so. It was my way of acknowledging that I was (occasionally and for a few hours only) earning silly amounts of money for what I was doing.
Why are celebrities selfish?
"MOST celebrities only donate to charities outside of the USA." Okay, HOW does that make them selfish at ALL? Just because they don't care about the USA doesn't mean they are selfish... people like Immortal Technique was BORN in Peru and been to third world nations and he feels (knows) they have worse problems and he has done charitable work, here is one example; http://www.ballerstatus.com/2009/04/03/i... he donated all his money from an album he made and all the shows on the tour... if that is selfish... then I don't know WHAT is selfless. _________________ Look, you use TERRIBLE examples of them being selfish. Why don't you talk about the ones who don't make any donations? Another example of a selfless guy is this guy; http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/te... one of the Simpson creators is terminally ill and donating plenty of money... Yes MANY celebrities are selfish ungrateful trash heads... but all of them? I think not... selfishness is a PERSONALLY TRAIT, there are selfish people of all "classes"... celebrity or not... rich or poor... You know when you talk about "not donating in the USA", that is where you argument starts and that is where it already goes wrong... you should use some more clear examples, not generalizations... notice how I gave you two sources and two people?
Is it wrong to be selfish?
It depends. I took a philosophy class, and apparently wanting to do charity work is selfish, because people only do charity work so they can be "good people" and do something "nice". In this sense, being selfish is mixed with selflessness. In this sense, even the idea of "karma" could be considered selfish, because if you believe in karma, you do good things so you get good in turn. But, I believe those two examples are a "good" type of selfish, as they both prove to be examples of "treating people how you want to be treated". Therefore showing that the person is empathetic and puts themselves in someone elses shoes. It just goes to show that good selfishness is mixed with selflessness. And, selfishness can also be a mean to get what we want. Is this acceptable? It is up for the person to decide. However, if we should ever sacrafice a good persons wellbeing, feelings, dignity or health by chosing to be selfish.
Does pure charity exist or there are always some hidden selfish motives?
There’s a lot of false charity that’s about tax write offs and being recognized and lauded for your wonderfulness. But there is also a goodly amount of what’s called altruistic charity, and yes it also involves some selfishness. But it’s only a very nice sort of selfishness. Even selfishness can be very fine when done right. This altruistic charity pays self liking and self love because you know you gave as close to no string’s attached as it is humanly possible to do. You’re not being greedy when you’re taking that only from what you do for someone else. You have a right to it. It shorts no one else and costs no one else anything. A lot of times not even gratitude. It’s be a good thing if a lot more selfishness done right existed.
What is selfish altruism?
It's a seeming act of altruism done for some sort of material or social gain, such as celebrities who do charity benefits, not because they actually care, but to increase their public profile. Or doing something altruistic so that people think well of you. The person who says that the good feeling that comes from doing kind things makes it not altruistic is wrong.
If charity makes you feel good, is it truly altruistic/unselfish?
We view selfishness as a bad thing. It isn’t always. Our genetic imperative to procreate is selfish. Why do you think we (as a species) prefer to have our own babies than adopt? Is having a baby a bad thing?Ditto with giving to charity. Not long ago I was in a position to support an amazing program to research the prevalence of HTLV-1, a terrible virus that causes serious health issues and death. It is a particular problem for indigenous people in Australia.It was the biggest donation I have ever made, and the charity has given us feedback about the amazing impact of our gift. It led to millions of dollars of funding.Cousin of HIV plaguing Australia and the worldThe charity that organised the research, and asked me for the donation - The Baker Institute - has made us feel very special. We feel like all of this media coverage and the funding is because of us.It isn’t of course, it was the incredible hard work and persistence of the research and clinical teams in Alice Springs and beyond. And most importantly, the people with the virus and their families and communities who have come forward and worked with the researchers to make things better for people in the future.I hope they feel special too - because they are, but this logic doesn’t make me feel less special.I got a big (selfish) reward of good feeling for making this gift.Fundraisers need to understand this.After years of being a fundraiser, I have learned lots about motivations, values, reward. And a good feeling for donors is a fantastic gift for us fundraisers to give to all those wonderful donors who are sacrificing something for the good of others.Sean