Why not be selfish?

[colaboy]

It's a neat question. I recently saw a comment on another forum that basically said "how would we know what is right and wrong without the 10 commandments". Clearly you were not saying the same thing - and went to some lengths to distance yourself from this sentiment.

I think we are all selfish - even the notion of being good to ensure you are well thought of in the afterlife has a selfish dimension. However part of that selfishness recognises this trait in other people and so sometimes, for various reasons to do with social interation (pay forward a favour, form an alliance, angling for sex) we put our self last. This has already be well stated by others posting comments. This is mostly due to empathy. Obviosuly selfish people tend to have less empathy - i.e. the ability to see selfishness in others. So I would suggest empathy is the main source of human decency.

I suppose what I would like to add is that - for whatever reason - people who don't believe in the afterlife generally are as unselfish, decent and kind to others as those who do. This suggests to me an even higher degree of unselfishness. If you believe in god then there is always that overiding motivation to be good, if you don't believe in god, then you do have less motivation, and so this logic would lead me to suggest that ungodly people are less selfish than godly ones.

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

This is largely aimed at people who either don't believe in an afterlife or at least don't believe in punishment/reward in the afterlife.
If you only get one shot at life, why care what people think of you when you're gone? Leaving a legacy of peace and kindness won't mean a jot to you if you cease to exist and will ultimately be forgotten by either the passage of time or the inevitable apocalyptic demise of our species.
Why not devote your life to yourself? Why not be utterly ruthless in the pursuit of power and wealth, look out only for yourself and your loved ones and let all others be damned? Why not strike a balance between self preservation and satisfying your desires and leave any concept of morality out of the equation?
Why care about any concept of honesty, honour or decency if it's ultimately futile? With no threat of punishment, no promise of reward and no material gain or loss after death, why not be selfish?

For those wondering, this isn't a smug "I'm a theist and thus morally superior" argument. I do my best to live the lifestyle I described. I just honestly don't understand why anybody would follow conventional notions of morality and decency when there is ultimately nothing to be gained from it. I don't get why people feel they should be "good".


Oh one more thing, I can completely understand staying within the law so as to avoid punishment and I'm not suggesting being obnoxious to everybody you meet (which in my opinion is actually counterproductive). This is more along the lines of if you could steal money and not be caught, why wouldn't you do it? If you could backstab a co-worker to get a raise what's stopping you?

Because this :

Nice Guys Finish First - Richard Dawkins 1987

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6rgWzYRXiI



Also, I will only be remembered through my deeds on this planet. I think legacies are important. I want people to remember me as a good person when I am gone. It doesn't mean I need to believe in an afterlife for that. I am sure Gandhi, or Martin Luther King Junior did not do good deeds because they wanted a better afterlife. In fact, I think being good so that you go to heaven is actually selfish. You are doing good only to benefit yourself.