Selfishness and Altruism

November 5th, 2007 Fred McVittie Posted in Altruism, Centre, Enlightenment, Evolution, Self |

Although it would probably be ideal if we could strive for enlightenment with no thought for the benefits it might bring such as pleasant bodily feelings, better mental and physical health etc. it would be a rare human indeed who could avoid the lure of such motivations. Our ancient biology and habitual self-centredness cannot fail to seek out the personal advantages that may be gained from any action, and the path of enlightenment is no different. However worthy and impersonal the goal, it is written in the fabric of our psyche that such evidently altruistic acts as, for example, training to be a doctor or social worker, entering divine ministry, even martyrdom for the most noble cause, makes us imagine how we ourselves might benefit individually from these career choices. Fame, wealth, and the promise of eternity in paradise are just some of the gains to be had, and it is the presence of these possible gains within our motivation which make us waver. It is a natural human tendency to find such ’selfish’ reasons to go there. ‘What’s in it for me’ is the knee-jerk response of a part of the brain which served us well in the evolutionary past and still calls to us when we are considering any course of action. So when such thoughts arise we may worry if we are doing this altruistic act not for its own sake but for the wrong reasons of personal gain.

We may feel that for an act to be truly selfless there should be no possibility of personal gain to be had from it and no trace of selfishness in out minds, and if there is then we should not proceed. It would be a great tragedy if all the great and good of history, Ghandhi, Mandela, Jesus, Mohammed etc. had come to this conclusion, since each and every one of them must unavoidably have felt the stirrings of personal profit and saw the possibility of their own elevation, if not in this world then in the next.

This feeling of impropriety also arises when pursuing enlightenment, however much we tell ourselves rationally that there is a ‘higher’ purpose to the quest, inexpressible in the language of the fallen. And no matter how we tell ourselves that any personal benefits that may accrue are transitory and not the thing itself (and there is no guarantee that any such benefits will actually emerge) we can still sense the persistent eye of our ego looking out of our being, an eye firmly fixed on the main chance and looking after number one. Since such self-centredness is inevitable and unavoidable we should not see it as a contamination of our pure motives, or as a reason not to continue on the road. Instead we should perhaps acknowledge the existence of this eye. After all, it served us well in our evolutionary past and without it looking after our bodies when danger was behind every bush we would not be here today thinking about ‘higher’ things at all. When we were at our most mortal, it was there for us and kept us safe, and it would be churlish and ungrateful for us to disown it now, like a soldier from an unpopular war. When we needed it, it was there, and the least we can do is to look upon it kindly and with the compassion and understanding it deserves. It no longer stands alone at the vanguard of our existence, and when we hear its voice in our head we do not have to answer its call.

Look after your old self like an elderly relative; sometimes it says wise things and sometimes it calls your Senegalese neighbours ‘darkies’. Without it you would not exist. You are an adult. Make up your own mind.