TOPIC: Are people inherently selfish?

[dell9031]

So....are they?  Are you?
Is selfishness natural?  Is selflessness learned?  Or are you just a weenie?

I say you are!  Defend yourself!

Talk amongst yourselves.....

[xena2009]

So....are they?  Are you?
Is selfishness natural?  Is selflessness learned?  Or are you just a weenie?

I say you are!  Defend yourself!

Talk amongst yourselves.....

selfishness is learned,

[dreamyxo]

I'm selfish.  I only have me to think about.  I'm single and take care of myself, it's all about me, me, me. 

[michellemoore92]

I think we are! we must be in order to survive~

[cloudsoup]

i somewhat agree with the fact that we have to
be selfish to survive. humans are like animals in this
way, and its purely instinctive. you would not share
your last piece of food with a stranger if your child
had not eaten yet, for example. but i don't know if
the word "selfish" really fits this scenario...


as a whole, i definitely think selfishness is learned.

raise a child in an environment that is completely,
100% without selfishness. it does not know selfish,
or what it even means to be it. pretend the word
does not exist. do you think the child will show selfish
behavior if it has never seen or known selfish/has
absolutely no idea what selfish is/has thrived on sharing
and giving and the opposite of selfish? i don't.

i think we are all selfish in different ways, and to different
degrees, because we have learned to be that way. i've learned
that i don't like people picking off my plate when i'm out to eat,
so i'm selfish when it comes to who i go out with   etc, etc.

[supptrashcan]

It's essentially the topic "Nature vs Nurture"

The topic goes both ways and there is no real correct answer.
Personally, I think it is learned/inherited. It all depends on who you grow up around and an infinite numbers of circumstances that occur in ones life that ultimately determine how someone turns out... whether they are selfish or selfless is one of the many traits that I believe is inherited.

[belleg1]

Some are some are not, it's all in how you're raised. Everyone learns from one parent and usually in any relationship one person is more selfish than the other. Why? It's all about odds.
Love Ya'll, have a great weekend!

[tiffkk09]

i beleive that i WAS selfish before having a child, then everything became about him, i dont worry about myself anymore, HES MY #1 priority

[talmitalbot]

I think we are as a leftover from day to day survival.

[AmyTrivitt]

I am very selfish, I am selfish as a mother and as a wife. I make sure my kids have everything they need and to a certain extent want. And of course my hubby gets everything. I am also selfish in the sense as my lifestyle which I have been called selfish allot. I don't give a *bleep* though. Judgemental people are the most selfish of all so I know im not that high on this totem poll.

[liljp617]

It seems pretty obvious that it's not a black-and-white topic.  I don't think anybody really believes humans are innately truly altruistic, but humans also aren't innately truly selfish. 

We're a social group species and, like other social group species, we exhibit behavior that resembles morality and altruism.  Why?  Because it works -- it increases the probability of our own survival and the survival of those group members around us.  That doesn't mean we're not going to exhibit selfish behavior as well -- if we could ignore the modern world we live in and place ourselves back in the natural environments we came from, you would very likely see groups fighting each other in cases where resources are up for grabs (actually it's not even necessary that you ignore the modern world, but it makes the point more clearly).  Naturally, we still have some selfish motives when the situation is grave or our well-being depends on it.

I don't think it does much good to think of the topic as:  "We're either selfish or altruistic."  I think it's more beneficial to think of the topic as a spectrum

True Altruism <---------------------------------------------> True Selfishnesh

with varying degrees of altruism/selfishness in the middle.  As for the innateness, I would venture to it's quite related to genetics/nature as well as environment/nurture; I don't see any reason to think it's completely one or the other.

[tzs]

..to some extent, yes!  Take a look at the terrible two's man! 

[dkanofsky]

Have you never heard of the secular trinity , Me, Myself, and I ?

[sandiegosurfer]

yes that is why capitalism prevails and communism fell.

[alwpgf]

Yes.  Just look at a baby or toddler...no need to teach them to grab what they want or cry over what gets taken or held away, but must be taught how to share.