Everything that anybody does is selfish.

=== DEFINITION / "READING BETWEEN THE LINES" === My opponent claims that his definition didn't actually leave out disregard for others as a part of selfishness - he claims that I have simply failed to 'read between the lines' to see what he meant. Of course, I'm not sure which lines I was supposed to read between - my opponent dismissed my definitions as being mere semantics and instead opted to use "the overall meaning of selfishness in that it is to directly gain to oneself, whether mental or physical." Sorry, but not only is that definition completely wrong, but it does not imply a disregard for others, but rather it depends only on whether or not there is gain for oneself. To expect not only me to 'read between the lines,' but the audience as well, is a bit unrealistic. In any case, it seems we are now once again set on the definitions I provided in the first round: a selfish action is an action performed with regard for yourself, and with no regard for other people. === SEMANTICS === As much as my opponent claims to not want this to be a semantics debate, he sure is employing plenty of semantics. He has redefined the decision-making process as something that helps you decide what to do based on what you want to do. Fortunately, human decision-making happens on a much deeper level. To do what you want to do requires that you know what you want to do - decision making is how we decide what it is we want to do. Ex1. A man has a choice between going to school and staying home. On one hand, staying home would allow him to do other things, and would let him escape the boredom he is likely to face at school. On the other hand, going to school has long-term benefits to himself. His decision will depend on whether or not he values long term benefits for himself more than short term benefits for himself. In this case, either choice will be selfish, because both of his conflicting values are self-centered. For instance, if he went to school, we would say he did so because he values long term benefits for himself. It would, however, be shallow and meaningless to say he went to school 'because he wanted to.' In any case, what's important is that both statements are true - he went to school because he values long-term benefits for himself, and he went to school because he wanted to. The decision-making in Ex1 is the man deciding between staying home and going to school - decision-making is a battle between various values. While both of the man's values were selfish in Ex1, that is not always the case. Utilitarians, for example, value making that stranger over in the corner happy as much as making themselves happy. Let's look at another example. Ex2. While on vacation, a man sees a homeless man on the side of the road begging for money. He as a choice to make - to give the homeless man some money, or to keep his money. Depending on his choice, there are many paths of reasoning he might take. == Keeping it: 1. I don't want to give away my money. [Value: his own wealth] 2. I don't think he's really homeless. [Nullifies the scenario] 3. He hasn't done anything to deserve my money. [Value: fairness] Giving the Hobo 5 bucks: 4. He needs this more than I do. [Value: the homeless man's well-being] 5. I have everything I need, so I might as well help this guy get what he needs. [Value: same as above] 6. I'll be able to see him smile, and I just love seeing other people smile. [Value: his own smile-seeing] 7. People will think I'm generous if give him some cash. [Value: his own reputation] == In cases 1, 6, and 7, the act would be selfish, no doubt about it. Cases 2 and 3, while there is no regard for anyone else, there really isn't self-regard either, so it can't really be called selfish. And of course, cases 4 and 5 are the best examples of unselfish behavior. Due to having a regard for the homeless man, he is giving away some money. This is not selfish - in fact, it is regard for others that directly leads to this action - and a selfish action must be performed without regard for others. === ARGUMENT USING CORRECT DEFINITION === My opponent claims that while I might value making someone's life easier, I only value that because I will get mental gratification from it. Of course, this is completely backwards. Rather, I receive mental gratification from it _because_ I value it. I value it not because of mental gratification for myself, but because of whatever personal philosophy I have. If I "did not care about making her life easier," as my opponent suggests, then I would not be mentally gratified by it. === ARGUMENT USING INCORRECT DEFINITION === Note that my opponent has, since my last round, decided to agree with my definition. Luckily, all the arguments in this section work for the real definition as well. Person A forcing person B to eat a ham sandwich = My opponent compares this to someone hitting someone else with a stick - he claims that person B isn't actually doing anything, he is just a passive agent. This is false. There are two actions in this scenario - forcing and eating. While person B is passive with regards to forcing, he is actively eating [albeit against his will]. Person A is forcing, person B is eating. Bleeding = While it's true that bleeding is often advantageous, it is often not. For example, some people bleed to death - the only way to stop this is to stop the bleeding. Doing something that is definitely bad for you, like bleeding to death, is not selfish. Even so, physical processes do not have a regard for anyone - to have a regard for someone is to be concerned about them, which is only possible with a mind. Bleeding is not something the mind decides to do - bleeding is simply a natural consequence of the laws of physics. Falling = My opponent claims that if a person did not want to fall, they would not have jumped. This is not necessarily true. It is possible for a person to think they can fly, for example. Passing out / Falling into a coma = This is not selfish for the same reason bleeding is not selfish. A person's body does not have a regard for anything - it's simply a system of stuff following the laws of physics. Concern for someone requires a mind - something the body does not use when falling into a coma or passing out. Visiting gross sites due to being tricked = My opponent attempts to completely dodge this. He claims that being on a computer is selfish because it is offensive to some people's beliefs. First off, that doesn't make any sense - to be unselfish, one does not have to have a regard for everyone else - only that you have regard for yourself while not having regard for ANYONE else. Second off, we're not talking about the act of being on a computer, we're talking about the act of visiting gross sites due to being tricked. These are separate acts - and while one requires the other, the selfishness of one does not imply the selfishness of the other. Visiting gross sites is done unwillingly, and thus there is no regard for yourself in doing it. There may be self-regard in clicking the link, too, but that [like being on a computer] is a separate act. Hitting a deer with your car = My opponent attempts to use the same logic here as in the computer example. He says that driving in a car is inherently selfish. However, like in the above example, it is a separate act. We're talking about the specific act of hitting a deer with your car - running into a deer with your car is not selfish, even IF driving a car necessarily was. And now, for my opponent's closing arguments. We'll be right back after this break.