Your post is spot-on and very related to what I do at the moment.

I am working on a website where we can all help each other for free. http://www.karmawish.com

Basically you help someone first, by doing so you earn a credit. You can then post your wish and be helped by anyone else in the world.

Have a look. It’s the same spirit as couchsurfing except it’s for everything: need a window changed, need a translation, need someone to look after your cat etc etc… All for free as long as you help too!

Let me know if you like the idea.

Thanks

Guillaume

“…somehow incompatible with helping others, general benevolence, and good-will among all human beings.”

or

“…because it can be one of the most rewarding activities you can undertake. It can be a key factor in living a meaningful life. A wonderful synthesis of both is finding happiness by doing those things that give you pleasure and meaning while at the same time benefiting others. ”

or

“What if everyone took care of themselves to the extent possible while acting in a generally kind and helpful way toward every ones else, including the other creatures of the earth?”

I don’t know if you know the meaning of those words, but how you got “only care for yourself” is beyond me.

“but i know many more people that sacrifice others for their own sake, rather than the reverse …. and to think that it is ok because they are somehow allowing themselves to be better able to help others , is absurd.”

Now I can directly respond to that. You are right. To say it is ok to sacrifice others for your own sake is absurd. So please point out anywhere I said or even implied that sacrificing others for your own sake was ok? That is totally false and in fact I said in multiple places you have no right to trample on others. I consider that a complete evil. I called it hogwash.

your advice is valuable to some people. but i know many more people that sacrifice others for their own sake, rather than the reverse …. and to think that it is ok because they are somehow allowing themselves to be better able to help others , is absurd.

the majority of people do not over-extend or sacrifice themselves for others. only a small percentage would gain true benefit from your writing, the rest will feel better about themselves for being selfish and uncaring.

“But that’s relatively easy to do.”

It seems like there are an awful lot of people who can’t take care of themselves and are a burden on others. The percentage of the population who for instance are taking some form of government payment is pretty big and that’s just one small measure of burden. What about all the people who are burdens on their own family, etc. When you go to a hospital emergency room without health care you are a burden on others. So if it’s easy, a whole lot of people aren’t doing the easy thing.

“I often find that people use the Virtue of Selfishness argument to indulge in being completely narcissistic and self-centered.”

Maybe so, but I don’t. Most narcissistic and self-centered people I know aren’t evolved enough to even know the argument. Some of them who are and are the most narcissistic people I’ve encountered, wouldn’t be caught dead using the argument. They are the self-centered saviors of the rest of us running all over the country (and the world too) telling everyone about how they plan to do it.

Why the other day I heard one of them on T.V. say “I wish I could just write a check (using other people’s money of course)”.