Is pure altruism possible?

Josefine Ganko (12R)

Consider a thirty-year-old nurse. This nurse has spent the last ten years of her life working in hospitals in developing nations. Many people would consider her to be the embodiment of selflessness. But the question I raise today is, is selflessness even possible? This nurse would surely gain immense satisfaction from her work, as well as praise from her peers, making her work, in many ways, selfish in nature. After all, if you are doing something that makes you feel good, isn’t it selfish?

It is entirely possible that those who devote their lives to what we see as altruism are in fact just as selfish, if not more so, than everyone else. As cynical as it may sound, a life spent chasing personal satisfaction is the height of selfishness in many regards.

As much as I hate to quote the dictionary, it supports my argument here. The dictionary defines altruism as ‘the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others’. But as humans, we can’t honestly claim that we would continue to do something for other people if we got absolutely nothing out of it ourselves, which leads many to believe that altruism is simply a concept, and not a reality.

This paradox is one that I have often pondered, and in many ways, it forms a personal existential crisis, as the foundation of my life rests on the assumption that selflessness is possible. Yet, as somewhat of an oxymoron, deep down I believe that pure altruism is simply impossible.

It’s a paradox I’ve personally experienced.

I recently decided that the ultimate altruistic deed for me would be to give blood. The last three times I’ve had blood tests, I’ve passed out, and the idea of donating blood disgusts me to my very core.

But I figured this is what altruism is — giving blood can save lives, but I will personally have a terrible time doing it. But it wasn’t that easy, because the next level of analysis led me to realise the very fact that I was seeking out a selfless pursuit is selfish in its very nature, as well as the fact that I would probably feel pretty good about myself after going through with it.

The sad nature of altruism is that even the most painful of sacrifices for the good of others, will ultimately make the person feel good about themselves, hence making it selfish. This is why I don’t believe in altruism; I ultimately do not think it is possible to commit an entirely selfless deed.

Full disclosure: I get immense satisfaction from much of the service I do, and when I tell people that I want to pursue a career in a charity such as UN Women, the impressed responses don’t go unnoticed. Does that make me a selfish person? Maybe. I don’t know, and I don’t really like to think about it, to be honest.

This may sound odd to many of you, coming from a service captain after all. In many ways I am admitting that what I do as service captain may be out of selfishness. Maybe I am incredibly selfish. Maybe the reason I do service is because it makes me feel really good, in which case I’m a pretty terrible person. You can see why this is giving me so much strife.

I heard a fact recently that said that the ventral striatum is the part of the brain that is stimulated when donating to charity, which is the same part of the brain that is active when under the influence of cocaine. This revelation was incredibly worrying to me. After all, maybe I should just give up service and adopt a cocaine addiction, if the end result is the same.

But that’s where you reach the difference. A cocaine high isn’t going to get you anywhere, in fact it will get you absolutely nowhere. A service high however, if that’s what we’re calling it now, is ultimately beneficial to others in need. Does it really matter if your motive is selfish, if the outcome helps those who need it most?

The unavoidable realisation is that we are all selfish. Despite what anyone in this room may say, we are all ultimately in pursuit of our own happiness, before anything else. I’m currently doing a speech on selflessness, yet I am literally spending half the time talking about myself. It’s simply human nature, self-preservation, survival of the fittest.

At the end of the day, it can’t be seen as a bad thing if what you personally draw satisfaction from helps other people, especially when compared to the alternative of benefitting from the suffering of others.

I would take selfish service over selfish greed any day.

Ultimately what I am trying to say is we are all selfish, but that is not such a bad thing. It makes sense to look after ourselves first and foremost. All I hope is that we direct our selfishness into acts that will also help, or at least not harm, the people around us.