Selfish: (a.) 1. caring only OR chiefly for oneself; regarding one's own interest chiefly OR solely; proceeing from love of self; influenced in actions solely by a view to private advantage.
2. showing or cased by such regard, as an action
You're referring to self-centeredness. A self-centered person is indeed selfish, but a selfish person is not by any regard self-centered.
The difference is clear in the ORs listed in the definition (Webster's). Chiefly is the motivating factor. An altruistic person is clearly motivated by the selfish feeling of satisfaction that is gained by an act of otherwise seemingly selfless behavior. They act on the belief that the good feeling they receive outweighs the loss they may incur temporally or materially. That is clearly a selfish act.
As for making a commitment to satisfy the conditions of contribution, I disagree. The basic grounds of growth are usually found by breaking the standard, accepted conditions of contribution. Sometimes it is a painful, and fruitless, process. But ultimately that is where destiny is derived. Not from accepting conditions of commitment, but "breaking the mold".
Nothing in life is pure agony, unless a person revels in the agony. That, of course, alters the arrangement and the agony becomes pleasure. As such, EVERYTHING in life is done, or derived from, a means of making yourself feel better or improving your position.
Taking part of something larger than yourself MAY assist in meeting those ends (though some people take it to an extreme and become zealots for "a cause"). However, anyone who joins a "group" and stays with it forever, AND unquestioningly, is probably engaging in a selfish act to gain power or maintain the status quo which makes them comfortable. |
