A question about the intrinsic selflessness of humanity?

Question

One thing that baffles me is the appearance of free self-help articles. Forgive me, but i am about as pessimistic and cynical as they get, I see nothing of humanity but empty and selfish. So my question is, why do people put up articles so that others can improve their own self-worth, when they could just as easily put up articles convincing said people (with low self-worth) to worship them?

Answer 1

If you look carefully, many "free" sources of information are simply teasers trying to sell copies of books, or subscriptions to magazines or websites.

Other "free" articles are used to draw people to a website to generate advertising revenues.

You are very correct on your assumption of people.  Nothing is free, and few people have the luxury of volunteering or donating because of that fact.

Answer 2

I feel its interesting as you talk about the 'intrinsic selflessness'. Think about it... even at the base of this that you are calling selflessness is 'selfishness'. We human beings cannot help being selfish.

Its really nice that when you see people that are unhappy or suffering around you, you always want to extend your hand to help them and may even want to do it without expecting anything from them. But think about it this way... when you make them happy, you actually feel happy yourself on looking back at them. In a way you are seeking your own happiness by making them happy and isn't that selfish (but certainly in a nice way).

So those who are trying to make others happy here are actually making themselves happy by doing so. They are enjoying it themselves and making themselves happy by writing those articles. And at the same time those who are reading those articles are also benefitted by reading them... so this is all good and helpful to all who choose to participate.

So its actually OK to use selfishness for the purpose of your own growth and allow others to benefit from your own selfishness as well. But the problem is that many (in fact most) of us feel that we need to 'snatch' it from others to satisfy ourself. What we must understand is that everyone is innately selfish but there is no reason at all for our selfishness to affect anyone negatively or for someone else's selfish motives to affect us in anyway except positively. This innate selfishness is simply to allow oneself to grow in numerous ways that he/she chooses to but at the same time it does not give anyone any reason to deprive others from what they are selfishly seeking in their life. This world has so much to provide to everyone that no one ever needs to be left behind.

Answer 3

To make themselves feel better by helping others.

Answer 4

Because we truly desire to help others and expect nothing in return.  Thats what gives us pleasure in life.

Answer 5

Ayn Rand and her former compatriot Nathaniel Brandon were writing about self-esteem and selfishness long before the mainstream of psychology got involved--and neither of them would have wanted "worshipers." Would you? Why do you ask this question, rather than imploring people to worship you?

http://freeassemblage.blogspot.com/

Answer 6

Maybe you should do a 180 degree turn and look at yourself first. It could be that deep down inside you don't think self help works or perhaps it hasn't worked for you and you have become irritable. Here is a question for you and you only answer to yourself because it doesn't concern me. Why should you let those self help articles concern you at all?

Answer 7

Well I don't think humanity is hopeless. True all of us worry about ourselves and our own lives first. I won't deny that people act in their own self-interest.  

That's not alwasy a bad thing, you  need to take care of yourself first if you are going to take care of others or even help others. What good are you to anyone if you can't take care of yourself?

And yet while we do care about our own selves first, there is a part of humanity that makes people want to be better. We're not all bad but we're not all perfect. While I don't believe that people are altruistic, I don't think you should give up hope.

Also like someone else here said, most of those free articles are to entice people to go to a website and buy their products. Also in life you have to go and find the right people. You can never truly change someone so rather than trying, go out and find people as you want them to be.

Example: You like people that are laid back and outgoing, but you're not going to find them at a politics rally. You need to go to places where you are likely to find such people.  

Answer 8

Your attitude sounds more like a general disappointment, which has lead you to false conclusions on humans- they are certainly not as black and white as you propose.Why do people do a VARIETY of things that doesn't lead to their direct worship, in general?Human nature is more complex than that.And I'm not even implying they are more "altruistic",in the christian sense of the word.

Answer 9

I think that the problem is you. Being, and I quote, as cynical and pesimistical as they get, unquote, I truly believe there must be something really, really wrong with you.

I do not share your overly pessimistic appraisal of the situation of mankind as referred to in your question.

I have had in my life people who have done intentional good without waiting for a reward. Merely because they could do it.

I have also done good to others. I must admit that I am a Christian and I believe that by doing good to others good things will also happend to me.

This is also true from a statistical point of view... Considering that all people would do the same... the probability of "random acts of kindness" happening to you would definitely increase...

I also believe that something really bad must have happened to you to make you think so and I'm certain that what you seek here is actual, factual proof that things are not as bad as you see them.

Well, they're not!

50 years of living are proof enough I think!

It only takes for the worst circumstances to bring out what's best in people!

Hopefully you'll never come to verify that. I have.

Answer 10

The first three years of life are what makes you.  If you have a caring, loving environment, however rough it may be to outsiders, you will come out unscathed and will manage to 'connect' to the rest of humanity.

We are social creatures and would live in herds were we lower on the evolutionary scale.

Don't be misled ... there are plenty of scamming, selfish individuals out there.  My ever-growing spam inbox is the evidence of that.

Answer 11

lol...a lot of people i've found, like you sir - myself is included in this too, LOVE to hear themselves talk! they blog and blog and blog. they split themselves open, knowing that what's inside is bloody and raw and real and want to be judged and loved and hated. there's this urge to find empowerment and justification on how cool we are by blasting "us" at someone, watch them absorb it and even judge it and take that energy (negative or positive) to fuel our existence and continual cyclical need to look at ourselves thru others' eyes. example: you obviously have it all figured out, right? your cynicism and pessimism define you so much, that even though you know the answer and even write the answer in your seemingly rhetorical question, you still post it for someone to read, answer, to which you will simply judge....low worth is subjective it seems...