Has anyone, aside from me, ever wondered how much of the things we do are motivated by altruism and how much by selfishness? A small part of me wants to believe that at least half of what we do stems from goodwill toward mankind, but the more rational side of me understands that most altruistic actions are, at least somewhat, for one’s own ego or gain.
For instance, raising money for a charity through a walkathon would be a selfless thing to, correct? You are giving up your time and money to help other people. However, you are also able to socialize with others, to feel good about yourself, and to impress people. It could be a resume builder or a corporate move or perhaps it fulfills a volunteer requirement for a school or organization. That’s your prerogative, and you know it. No one walks solely because it’s a good thing to do. No one else believes that you volunteer out of the goodness in your heart either. I remember volunteering for the New York Organ Donor Network, and working the information desk. People were shocked that I was volunteering just because I thought it was important and not because I had a relative/friend/random acquaintance that needed or had a transplant. That was a bit of a wake up call to me, but what can I say other than that I was young and naïve and honestly thought that I wasn’t such an anomaly. I truly felt like that was the right thing to do and that it was important work that I was accomplishing, but I also gained from the experience, and not just in a metaphysical, or psychological way. I was able to put that in my resume and college applications, so I think it counts as forwarding my own goals.
Another example might be teaching. Oh, so self-sacrificing and patient, to be a teacher. They’re only trying to make a difference in the world. Right. Okay, teacher get points for having to deal with kids who’d rather be anywhere else and trying to get something into their heads, but being a teacher means being an authority figure. Talk about ego-booster! My college professor admits that being a Professor (yes, capital ‘P’) makes HIM feel good. How many people go into teaching just because they can’t get a better job? It’s a relatively good pay, with benefits and great vacation time. I do know people who are teachers just because they think it is important to help kids (think of poor Sunday school teachers, sacrificing their weekends, but thought to oh so wonderful and giving!) but there’s also an element of enjoyment they derive from it. There’s a sense of self-satisfaction that comes from it, and that just makes it partially selfish.
Finally, we come to the ultimate sacrifice; to give one’s life for another has to be entirely selfless, correct? So that sense of pride and self-redemption plays no part in that decision, am I right? Because if you forfeit your life for someone else, then you automatically become a saint or a martyr and your past transgressions immediately become excused and you are memorialized. Or do I have it wrong?
So, perhaps all of this is somewhat cynical of me, but in our heart of hearts, we all know that it’s true. Don’t mistake me! I don’t believe that there are no such things truly altruistic actions. I’m sure there are some, but there can’t be too many. Or perhaps, I am defining altruism too narrowly. Perhaps it’s more about intention than what one might gain. But it’s rather late, so I’ll call it a night.
