Quote:
Originally posted by 3leggedfrog
sipsake what do you mean that the situation may not be selfish? what happens when you take away the motivation and keep the situation will the person still act the same way? the likey out-come is no. so while the out-come was good the act itself was not.
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That's entirely my point...YOU are the one defining the motivation of the actor.
Your premise is that there are no unselfish acts. Someone presents you with a situation. You look at the situation, find a way in which the actor's motivation can be defined as selfish, and declare yourself the winner. The problem is that YOU are defining the motivation regardless of what the actor's true motivation may have been.
Your real premise is that self interest is the primary motivating factor in human behavior. You then ask everyone to prove that it is not. You've therefore given everyone the impossible task of proving a negative.
Can't be done. You've just issued a wager that no one can win.