Is it possible to perform any action without ANY selfishness involved in it?

Question

How often does it happen and how many people actually do it?

Answer 1

...with this current crop of humans? No.

Answer 2

Hmm...I don't think so. Everyone does something for self benefit. Teachers teach to feel like they are making the world a better place. No act is done without a selfless act behind the situation.  

Answer 3

not many people can say they've preformed an act without any selfishness - when there really think about it. there's always a reason why people do stuff. always.

Answer 4

Yes. Greater love hath any man, that he would lay down his life for another. America's service men and women provide a great example.

Answer 5

In a word, no. If you go deep enough, every action that we commit has an element of selfishness about it, servicemen and women who wish to be thought of and feted as heroes, or women who give birth to rape babies because they wish to be thought of as saintly are just two examples...

Answer 6

Yes I think so - It doesn't have to be a hugely heroic act - Selfishneness  is a pejorative sort of word and we can project motive onto others very easily but I think that we are a mixture of selflessness and self awareness and selfishness -

Look at some of those who are outsiders to society - freer to be themselves without thinking about it - who don't have anything to prove or status to upkeep and think about random acts of kindness when you last gave ad received one - even a smile from a stranger.  

I think also it is possible to act selflessly in a way that ultimately does benefit the self but wasn't the motive in doing it.

I think  most of the harm in communications with self and others is in attributing motives when there are none.

Answer 7

Jesus.

Answer 8

I have always helped others without any thought for reward, but so many of those people have taken advantage of my kindness so often mistaking that kindness for weakness

Answer 9

No.

Biologically, within a normal healthy body, it could be said that cells serve their own interests first and the collective body second.

When you are sleeping and not dreaming, it could be said that your consciousness is temporarily not acting and this is probably the single most neutral part of our existence.  So at a minimum, it would seem that it's not possible to be selfish while unconscious because your free will is observably quiet.

For conscious acts of free will, the individual is serving, at a minimum, their own free will regardless of the deed.

The power to choose is evidence of self.

Answer 10

You could argue that any action has a selfish component, whether intentional or not, some a lot more than others.

Saving someone's life at the expense of your own has a selfish component. You have indebted them in a way they can never repay and had no choice in the matter. It was your idea, you forced the situation. You got your own way.

Answer 11

I guess it depends on whether you think gaining satisfaction from helping someone else is 'selfish', because the individual is gaining something (happiness) from performing the act.

But I'd say there are quite a few - donating voluntary services to a charitable organisation, serving your country etc.

There's more good in the world than people think :)

Answer 12

I've read enough to know that I don't know.

Try reading St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Confucius for a start.

'The Prince' by Machiavelli is a 'must read' too.

Answer 13

No. By definition, any willful act is willed by some self.

If you mean actions performed altruistically (harming self to help others, but to advance self's important interest), parents do it for their kids multiple times daily for years upon years.

Answer 14

good morning Brother

great question

it is impossible,psychology it is impossble

1 there is a quotation" human being is an selfish creature"

why we pray to god,we ask for something,power,money,peace there is an self intrest.

2 why so many muslims go to mecca,hindus to varanaisi,they always ask for something to god,oh god give me good health,oh god remove my misery,oh god make me get a job,there is always a self intrest behind worshiping of god,there is no devotee who go to church,mosque and temple and not ask for something.

3 there are many humans who do great donations,help poor,they want that they will get fame,that is a intrest.

there are many who not desire fame but they desire that there destiny should improve,god will become happy,there is always a intrest.

4 every human being love themselves only,we not love any other else our desires are attach with other humans,when they get fullfill we get happiness when they not get fulfill we hate them,for example a mother love his son and dearm that my son will become a doctor,etc and will take me to a new house and when son became a doctor and insult her brother and kick her out of house than she will hate her,so she not love his son,she loves the desire that are attach with the son

5 once king  ashoka and his wife was doing meditation askhoa ask,whom you love the most in this world,his wife reply i had done meditation and i had found out myself,ashoka also said myself.

every human love themselves and there are intrest with follow human.

6 there are many yogis,who are in search to get god,like buddha was in search of englightment,many saints always be in search of moksha(to end cycle of birth and death) that is also an intrest,to get god,to get englightment,to get freedome from cycle of birth and death.it is intrest.

can you desire desirelessness

7 if god exist and god is the creater of universe,than god is also selfish there must be some intrest behind the creation of this universe,entertainment or something else.no one knows.

so brother we should always had good intrest and should perform that actions which will benefit others and ourself also.

8 it is completely impossible that we can perform any action without any intrest,there will be always some intrest

sri krishna had said in gita that to get freedom from th cycle of birth and death one should perform selfless acts,in which there will be no selishness involved than one will get moksha,

there is big philosophical debate over this statement as it is impossible pscylogically that we can perform any action without any intrest

hope i answer the question to the best of my abilities

god bless you  brother and will give you power,beauty and knowledge

all the best for the future

Answer 15

The only difference between self interest and selfishness is spin.

No humans do nothing unless there is an element of self interest.

Never and nobody.

Answer 16

Yes I do it all the time.

Answer 17

Not as straightforward as some of the responders think. Parents do things for children out of love. However, in biological terms this ensures that their genes survive into the next generation. They also do this because loving someone is in itself rewarding. In other words not selfless.

Paramedics/Nurses/Doctors etc. save lives but they in return get the satisfaction of doing something ultimately rewarding and valued by society. If society looked down on these people as scum and yet they still did what they did then maybe there would be a case for saying it was a selfless act - but they don't.

A truly selfless act would have to despised or invisible and still be without  personal gain. A random shooting for no good reason would fit your criteria - but I would not want to encourage this sort of behaviour.

Selfishness can be good - selflessness can be bad.

Answer 18

Good question.

Wikipedia defines selfishness as "the act of placing one's own needs or desires above the needs or desires of others. "

In this case I think there are many deeds people do for others whereby they get reward but not as great a reward as the receivers.  For example, a paramedic may save someone's life, for which they will feel wonderful in themselves, however the person whose life they have saved will, I am sure, feel a lot better than the paramedic.

Answer 19

Yes. By responding to God's invitation to turn away from sin and open your heart to his abiding love.

Answer 20

The list is endless, every parent who wishes their child to succeed in life, that D Tutu guy who was responsible for extinguishing fires in the oil fields, Jesus, everyone who works for charity, everyone who works in public service, right at the top of the group is the people who come under the title benevolent dictators, there are few but these few are popular.  

Answer 21

I think the most selfless action I have seen is when a woman gave birth to a child that was the result of rape.  It took nine months of selflessness and was because the innocent child did not deserve to be the other victim.