Selfishness

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Selfishness is such an interesting thing to talk about. Selfishness is usually not determined by self. Its kina hard for people to accept that they were selfish for their actions. Its usually people around us that judge our actions as selfish because everyone feels his or her actions are right. Selfishness is where one is strongly concerned with his own interest, advantage and or success than the interest of others. Each and everyday we see or experience selfishness. We see selfishness to be a bad thing and its wrong. I see selfishness to be conditional that is it can be either good or bad depending on the kind of situation or condition you find yourself in. A lot of people ignore their families and friends just to be at the top. We might think these people are selfish which is wrong. Sometimes trust issues also make people selfish. About a year ago we heard Bill gate shut down a great meeting to be held by Microsoft because a member of the team was using an Apple machine at Microsoft. Someone might think Mr Gates wants everything for himself but the thing is competition in the market also makes people selfish. Apple and Microsoft are in the same market and seek the progress of no one than themselves that sounds selfish to some ears but they do that just to make it to the top. People are selfish because they want to get to the top that’s the primary aim. I remember I ignored one female friend of mine because I said I love her and she threw away my proposal. She had a boyfriend that she love. She used to come to my crib with her assignments and I always help her out but when she refused my proposal, I stopped helping her and she kept on failing. I felt like I keep on helping this girl without gaining anything in return. My dad once told me that he let a friend fail a promotional exam because they were all competing for the same position as the Senior Logistics manager. His long time friend made mistakes and all he could do is watch him fail because he needed the position so bad. The point here is selfishness here is based on individual thinking ,beliefs and wants or targets. You feel you’ve done the right thing but others see it the wrong way. Selfishness for me cannot be said to be good or bad.it is usually based on personal reasons that is why people act selfish. The best way to judge a person's action is get close to know his or her reasons for acting morose.

Ayn Rand

It is commonly believed that morality demands we choose between sacrificing other people to ourselves (which is deemed “selfish” and therefore immoral) and sacrificing our own values to satisfy others’ needs (which is deemed unselfish and therefore moral). In Rand's opinions expressed in her book rejects both options as forms of selflessness, and offers a new concept of egoism — an ethics of rational selfishness that rejects sacrifice in all its forms.Selfishness, however, does not mean “doing whatever you please.” Moral principles are not a matter of personal opinion — they are based in the facts of reality, in man’s nature as a rational being, who must think and act successfully in order to live and be happy. Morality’s task is to identify the kinds of action that in fact benefit oneself. These virtues (productivity, independence, integrity, honesty, justice, pride) are all applications of the basic virtue, rationality. Rand’s moral ideal is a life of reason, purpose and self-esteem.“Observe how many people evade, rationalize and drive their minds into a state of blind stupor, in dread of discovering that those they deal with- their "loved ones" or friends or business associates or political rulers- are not merely mistaken, but evil. Observe that this dread leads them to sanction, to help and to spread the very evil whose existence they fear to acknowledge.”
― Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism. This quote of Ayn Rand explains how people see thier love ones to be evil based on their own thinking which makes them selfish.