Selfless altruism is what Nature’s laws demand from us
Opinion from the Internet about our ability to develop selfless, altruistic traits:
“I agree we are capable in theory. And some of us may well come close but I don’t believe a truly selfless act is achievable. Just like altruism isn’t really possible. Even an act that appears completely selfless has a pay off for the individual.
And yes this is not a black and white thing at all. We vary so much from human to human. I believe some of us are born with more propensity to be able to act selflessly or want to. Maybe it’s through genes? I don’t know. But of course a newborn baby is the epitomy of egocentricity. What happens (or not) from then on depends upon so many factors.
I agree with everything you are saying.
And probably we would stay on this theoretical level of conversation, building different philosophies about altruism, selfless acts, about our individual differences if we had the choice.
But we don’t have a free choice!
Altruism is the nature of the Universe. Without altruism, without the truly selfless, unconditionally serving interaction between elements, parts of closed, integral living systems, life wouldn’t be possible. We ourselves wouldn’t be alive as our own cells wouldn’t connect and facilitate the circulation, communication life depends on.
And since Human beings are also part of Nature’s integral system, we are also individual cells of a “Human super-organism that is just one species in Nature, Nature’s laws of integration apply to us in an obligatory manner as well.
The “only” - so far incomprehensible - difference between Humans and the rest of the system is that we received the chance to work out by ourselves the necessity of integration through selfless, altruistic connections.
This is also the reason why we are born with an opposite nature to selfless altruism, with an inherently egotistic, individualistic consciousness, program. This is how humans can remain independent and objective even after the conscious and methodical integration into Nature, as we do so by a acquiring a unique duality.
We develop selfless, altruistic qualities - “borrowing them from Nature’s evolution” - above and in contrast to our original program. Then we can become Nature’s insider/outsider, objective and independent witnesses, partners.
Our integration doesn’t mean losing our individual qualities, identities, it is the opposite. Especially through our inherent differences, uniqueness - when we integrate in top of them for the common purpose of collective survival - can we don’t utilise our abilities, specialties for the sake of the whole collective.
This is not a theory or philosophy, this is not religion or mysticism. This is a very real state we have to achieve according to evolution’s plan. Anna if we don’t do it consciously, proactively by our own volition, Nature’s system will press and force is to achieve it through investing suffering, blows - as it had started to happen in our generation.