Selfishness is a character that compels one to keep the whole or at least a part of anything and everything for oneself. Although used in a very derogatory sense, selfishness is an inherent trait in every organism, be it - unicellular or multi-cellular, mobile or immobile, domesticated or wild. It is the driving force behind the development of man and one of the most influential motivations.
Charles Darwin was right when he spoke of, 'The survival of the Fittest,' (Although he referred fitness, ultimately and only, to reproductive fitness, I believe fitness refers to the combination of all the favourable traits.) Selfishness is in our genes, and its one of the fundamental characters passed on to us by our ancestors. Only selfish people incited by a tinge of selflessness went a long way and they still do!! Plain selflessness neither inspires one, nor does it motivate one to beat the odds and do something new. Selfishness renders one fit and the fittest always survive.
'Man loves himself most.' I've read at least two stories having this as their moral and I wish to cite the two. In one story by Mannu Bhandari, a cemetery comes upon a widower who is extremely sad and is weeping over the death of his wife. The cemetery expects the man to die in despair, but in the span of a couple of years, it again comes upon the same individual mourning the death of his second wife. The cemetery condones the man, thinking of his acts as an aberration, but when it again finds the man lamenting, this time due to the death of his third wife, it realizes that man loves oneself most and that he is always ready to scale immense heights to find peace and happiness for oneself.
In another Akbar and Birbal story, Birbal arranges for an experiment to prove that one loves one's own life most. He puts a monkey and its baby in a deep tank and asks the servants to start pouring water into it. As the water level rose to the mother's knee, it picks up the baby and places it against its bosom. When the water reaches its hips, it places the baby on its shoulder. When the water level reaches its shoulders, it places the baby on top of its head. But, when the water level seems to rise above its nose, it puts the baby down and stands on top of it to save its own life. Thus, the experiment showed that one loves one's own life most.
Although I speak so much for selfishness, I don't intend to support it under its current definition. I believe that we shouldn't let selfishness limit only up to I; it should cover the expanse of I, my family, my people, my nation, my Earth and even my galaxy (not ruling out inter-galactic communication in the near future.) I believe selfishness under the right control can be a very positive inspiration and motivation.
Charles Darwin was right when he spoke of, 'The survival of the Fittest,' (Although he referred fitness, ultimately and only, to reproductive fitness, I believe fitness refers to the combination of all the favourable traits.) Selfishness is in our genes, and its one of the fundamental characters passed on to us by our ancestors. Only selfish people incited by a tinge of selflessness went a long way and they still do!! Plain selflessness neither inspires one, nor does it motivate one to beat the odds and do something new. Selfishness renders one fit and the fittest always survive.
'Man loves himself most.' I've read at least two stories having this as their moral and I wish to cite the two. In one story by Mannu Bhandari, a cemetery comes upon a widower who is extremely sad and is weeping over the death of his wife. The cemetery expects the man to die in despair, but in the span of a couple of years, it again comes upon the same individual mourning the death of his second wife. The cemetery condones the man, thinking of his acts as an aberration, but when it again finds the man lamenting, this time due to the death of his third wife, it realizes that man loves oneself most and that he is always ready to scale immense heights to find peace and happiness for oneself.
In another Akbar and Birbal story, Birbal arranges for an experiment to prove that one loves one's own life most. He puts a monkey and its baby in a deep tank and asks the servants to start pouring water into it. As the water level rose to the mother's knee, it picks up the baby and places it against its bosom. When the water reaches its hips, it places the baby on its shoulder. When the water level reaches its shoulders, it places the baby on top of its head. But, when the water level seems to rise above its nose, it puts the baby down and stands on top of it to save its own life. Thus, the experiment showed that one loves one's own life most.
Although I speak so much for selfishness, I don't intend to support it under its current definition. I believe that we shouldn't let selfishness limit only up to I; it should cover the expanse of I, my family, my people, my nation, my Earth and even my galaxy (not ruling out inter-galactic communication in the near future.) I believe selfishness under the right control can be a very positive inspiration and motivation.