Altruism at it's Core

So, there's something I've been pondering for quite a while now. The past few years I've been wondering if anyone really does anything completely for anyone else. You know, the whole Selfless act thing. I've been wondering if it's really possible for someone to do something and reap no benefit whatsoever in return.But, is this really possible? I've personally come to the conclusion of no.

We'll start first with such things as giving charity and other such activities. Now, these most definitely help other people, and they are good things to do. However, they are far from selfless acts. On the small scale, even giving a little makes a person feel better about themselves and give's them a sense that they have done something to make the world just the slightest bit better. This in itself a reward that most people value quite a bit. Unfortunately, in receiving this award (although your are receiving it from yourself) it makes the act of giving charity just the slightest bit selfish.

But what about donating your time to something you really don't want to do? Well, assuming that your not given a monetary or food reward (or anything else), Most people would still have that smug sense of satisfaction that they've helped someone else. Even if they despised the task, they would also get the reward of a favor. Almost all people, when doing something they hate for someone else, expect that the person they worked for, will eventually do something for them that this other person dislikes. This can be, in itself, quite satisfactory a reward, whether it is simply knowing that you have a favor to use, or whether your watching someone else help you deal with that nasty mongoose problem you have.

There are other situations as well that I can't think of that would seem altruistic in nature, but I imagine there is a way in which they are not.

Until my next installment,
Dancey McBearson