The truly selfless act

ARE YOU OKAY? IS YOUR KEYBOARD BROKEN?

Is it really? Is it really selfless to obey the teachings of a religion because you were promised, and believe, doing so would net gibsmedats for yourself in the afterlife? Could you really love God if you were only doing so because of such promises?

>Can you now give any example of a truly selfless act?
Throw yourself in a cannibal's pot, and let them eat you

Let yourself be nailed to a cross to die a painful death for people who actively hate and despise you in order to help them achieve salvation

And cause countless crimes in your name.

Also Chinese have worse deaths than nailing someone to a cross.

If you say that Christ suffered more by going to hell and suffering for eternity just like everyone else that didn't have perfect information then yeah sure...

It's not about how much or little he suffered, but the fact that he was the sacrificial lamb, doing so for the sake of people he'd never meet

Why can't I have myself killed to send atheists or Jews to heaven without having them believe in some system that seems weird on paper?

No it's entirely self-serving. One could argue that a gods unconditional love for an imperfect and at times thoroughly evil humanity is selfless, but love for God always comes down to trying to gain his favor, especially if the consequences to the human are material/societal gain or fear of an eternal damnnation or judgement.

The fact that you just patted your back on here to tell the story means that it wasn't.

The fact that you're here mentioning it shows that you did it with the intention of being able to tell the story and receive praise for it. The golden rule of treating others how YOU would like to be treated shows that most acts of compassion are done out of the fear that if you were ever in such pain, desperation, or even minor inconvenience, you'd hope that someone would help you. Whether it's pulling an old dying person into the shade, giving them a drink of water, and holding his hand in his last moments or just helping some guy wrestling with an obviously heavy load get through a door, it can be said that you're doing it because you hope that your reputation (Whether in society or a metaphysical reputation a la karma) will earn you similar treatment in such situations. I still congratulate you for taking the time to help a struggling person, but I can't say that my congratulations aren't self serving because I would like to receive praise for my own acts of compassion.

Something truly selfless? I just don't know. People say that ethics are doing the right thing when no one is watching and there is no reward to be had, but people doing "selfless" things wwould imply that said person has no sense of self. Doing the right thing when no one will ever know or reward you still doesn't change the fact that YOU will always know and may be hoping for a metaphysical reward like good karma or the spread of positive energy.

Cont.

All alone in the desert and see a bunch of trash on the side of the road? You could clean it up with no help or anyone ever knowing, but you maintain an .
Something truly selfless? I just don't know. People say that ethics are doing the right thing when no one is watching and there is no reward to be had, but people doing "selfless" things wwould imply that said person has no sense of self. Doing the right thing when no one will ever know or reward you still doesn't change the fact that YOU will always know and may be hoping for a metaphysical reward like good karma or the spread of positive energy. All alone in the desert and see a bunch of trash on the side of the road? You could clean it up with no help or anyone ever knowing, but you maintain an inner sense of decency or the satisfaction of seeing your beloved wilderness untainted again.

Someone mentioned things like people protecting loved ones by jumping on a grenade, or taking their punishment/suffering in their place, which seems pretty damn selfless when you don't think about it too much. But what is Love? It's just about the most powerful motivating state of mind a person can have, so there's no way jumping on a grenade to save those you love can be said to be selfless, even if you pay with your life. Love makes people do crazy things even without any self-sacrificing circumstances. I just don't think selflessness exists. Would I have that fact change people so that they do nothing for others? No. We are social creatures, and we all live off of the compassion of others. It feeds society and the human spirit in a way that can create a better life for all of us, and it would make perfect sense to me that acting out of compassion is something that is necessarily self-serving

Yes I suppose we should all just jump in the fire and die.. No shit Sherlock humans act with their interests in mind..duhh what is this guy like a retard?

>Can you now give any example of a truly selfless act?
It does not exist. As long as there is a self, no act can be selfless, It is ontologicaly impossible. We are not merely messing around with semantics or abstractions here. Whatever phenomena greets your senses in such a way as to incite a reaction/feeling which will lead to you doing anything; it will always be YOU who is reacting to it, and for your own reasons, in whatever fashion, and for whatever reason that the thing has caused you to do.

>Let yourself be nailed to a cross to die a painful death
> in order to help them achieve salvation
You don't see a problem with your example here?

>What are accidents?
Mark twain btfo

An orphan single male donating to charity minutes before suckstarting a shotgun

Love of God isn't meant to be out of expectation of some reward. You don't love God because of what he has given you or what will come; this is business, not love. Actual love of God is unconditional, to give without expecting anything in return.

Unironically this. Maybe if OP meant altruism that would make more sense

This.

You dont seem to understand the meaning of the term "selfless". It doesn't refer to the physical self - but to an act without consideration for your own interest.

The real point here is that humans do everything through a filter of self satisfaction.

Even the man who throws himself on a grenade to save his comrades is doing it out of a moral sense of correctness.
It satisfies his mind that he has done the right thing - and so, even in such a fatal act of altruism, there is a kernel of greed.

This tiny amount of greed is, however, outweighed by the terrible sacrifice of his life. So much so that people dont even bother considering the greed - making it a moot point.

but - that tiny amount of "satisfaction" is just a decision being made. Its not really gratification.

"Is it right for me to stop these men being killed?"
"Yes"
"Then I shall."

There is no greed in that.

Donating a vital organ, when you are not dying, or about to die.

You die in the end, so satisfaction plays no part in it, since you will be dead and therefore cannot feel the satisfaction.

You are giving yourself for someone else.

Well, given that we only do selfless acts because we derive pleasure from it, that doesn't mean that the act is selfish. There has to be dopamine for any action; the dopamine released by your brain when you give to charity does indeed make selfless behaviour more rewarding. Mark Twain is merely expressing what we all feel on the inside.

However, the pleasure derived from accomplishing charitable acts doesn't exist in us to suit our own needs, but to suit the needs of others so that we can collectively survive. We're biologically selfless. We're only selfish individually because we're taught that it's biologically fulfilling.

Our economy and politics have taught us to be selfish from an early age. If I trade my apple for your orange, it's because I value the orange more than the apple; I'm cognitively giving you the shittier deal. I don't give an apple to you, for example, to derive pleasure from charitable works; I EXPECT something greater in return.