No such thing as pure goodwill?
A bit disillusioned...
Some friends told me that when people do things for others they do so expecting a favour in return. And even when one has no explicit motive for doing a good deed, one still benefits from the satisfaction/ happiness of doing the deed. So in other words, no matter what we do it will always be in self-interest.
This is definitely how my dad thinks (and why I could never really understand his way of looking the world, and he mine). And it's quite disturbing since I find I cannot look at people in the same way anymore! I'll wonder if they really mean it when they're nice to me, or are they merely returning/expecting a favour?
What's more, they advocated that everyone should always act in their best interests alone. This was really mind-blowing... they presented a very sound economical argument but I think it falls short of explaining how conscience, commitment and interpersonal relationships come in... aiyah *brain caves in*
I've always been an idealist. I seldom think of doing things for people so that they'll do things in return... or maybe deep down I do, and I'm just in denial about Man's ultimate selfishness. BUT I still don't think that good deeds are a function of reciprocation, or that the satisfaction garnered from helping others necessarily negates the implicit goodwill of the act (read Aristotle's Ethics).
***
Another friend reasoned that economists try to account for choices this way. Like flipping a coin, this could be regarded as a generalisation that reflects the result of sampling a large population. So not everyone may have ulterior motives for doing the things they do...
I guess it's good I'm not taking Econs?
Hmm... now my friend tells me there's a branch called Altruism Economics... I shall check it out (thanks!)... don't want to fool myself into believing in the Sugar Plum Fairy or sthing.
Edit: Maybe this is where Christianity comes in... just remembered how my pastor would talk about loving Christ BECAUSE he first loved us (read 1 John 4:19-5:5), not the other way round. Similarly, we should do good deeds because our hearts are overflowing with goodwill, forgive the cheesy sounding-ness... but this is the truth and I'd really rather believe in this.
Some friends told me that when people do things for others they do so expecting a favour in return. And even when one has no explicit motive for doing a good deed, one still benefits from the satisfaction/ happiness of doing the deed. So in other words, no matter what we do it will always be in self-interest.
This is definitely how my dad thinks (and why I could never really understand his way of looking the world, and he mine). And it's quite disturbing since I find I cannot look at people in the same way anymore! I'll wonder if they really mean it when they're nice to me, or are they merely returning/expecting a favour?
What's more, they advocated that everyone should always act in their best interests alone. This was really mind-blowing... they presented a very sound economical argument but I think it falls short of explaining how conscience, commitment and interpersonal relationships come in... aiyah *brain caves in*
I've always been an idealist. I seldom think of doing things for people so that they'll do things in return... or maybe deep down I do, and I'm just in denial about Man's ultimate selfishness. BUT I still don't think that good deeds are a function of reciprocation, or that the satisfaction garnered from helping others necessarily negates the implicit goodwill of the act (read Aristotle's Ethics).
***
Another friend reasoned that economists try to account for choices this way. Like flipping a coin, this could be regarded as a generalisation that reflects the result of sampling a large population. So not everyone may have ulterior motives for doing the things they do...
I guess it's good I'm not taking Econs?
Hmm... now my friend tells me there's a branch called Altruism Economics... I shall check it out (thanks!)... don't want to fool myself into believing in the Sugar Plum Fairy or sthing.
Edit: Maybe this is where Christianity comes in... just remembered how my pastor would talk about loving Christ BECAUSE he first loved us (read 1 John 4:19-5:5), not the other way round. Similarly, we should do good deeds because our hearts are overflowing with goodwill, forgive the cheesy sounding-ness... but this is the truth and I'd really rather believe in this.
aethyrs made a splash at 4:16 am
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hey dear, as I read your post I was reminded of how my friends spent 3 hours last week fixing my laptop because I spilt my drink on it, and they volunteered to do it and refused to accept anything from me in return.
It's good to know that that's what friends are for.
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