From http://richarddawkins.net/discussions/59...-desirable
Isn't the assumption simply because it is? i mean who doesn't like it when you help them or who likes it when you are selfish?
Quote:I have a question based on things I often see in atheist circles, and which I see in the first few pages of RD's The Selfish Gene, such as:
Quote:Be warned that if you wish, as I do, to build a society in which individuals cooperate generously and unselfishly towards a common good..."
"Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish."
I ask, in all intellectual seriousness, what is the basis for Richard Dawkins (and many atheists/agnostics/secularists/etc.) working on the assumption that generosity and altruism are desirable?
As a secondary question somewhat parallel to the first: "What's in it for me?" If I am a sentient, individual human being, what is my rational motive for being generous or altruistic? Does altruism only serve vague genetic tendencies, or can there be a conscious, rational basis for choosing to be altruistic?
Please note that I'm asking this based on the definition of altruism as "contributing to the welfare of others at the expense of one's own welfare." That means I don't consider things like working longer hours to put one's child through college (which is motivated by the selfish joy one takes from one's child), helping a mechanically-clueless friend fix his car (which is motivated by the selfish joy one takes in the friendship), etc. to be altruistic.
To circle back around, in light of the fact that altruism requires sacrifice, my two questions are:
1) What non-religious, rational justification is there for desiring altruism on any scale?
2) Is there any element of that justification that can satisfy an individual's personal values, or must the justification be rooted in Borg-like notions of "perpetuating the collective"?
I look forward to thoughtful replies to this issue burning up my mind! Thanks!
Isn't the assumption simply because it is? i mean who doesn't like it when you help them or who likes it when you are selfish?