Quote:
Originally Posted by elphenor
I think humans do "evil" things that are not even in their self-interest
think about behaviors motivated by pure spite
so as long as we have a concept of self and autonomy, we're going to be selfish in a sense, but I don't think it's that great an overarching explanation for anything
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I agree... Also I feel like defining selfishness in such a way that it refers to any and all behavior in and of itself makes the term fairly useless in the context of human behavior. It only carries meaning as a term when there is something to contrast it to. I think defining it so broadly really sacrifices any true insight you can derive from a statement like selfishness is the root of all evil if it's being presented as the driving force behind all behavior. It's like saying being alive is the root of all evil.