Are Humans inherently Selfish?
By: Juhi Gala
Tags: Selfishness, Ancestors, Human Behavior, Psychology, Lifestyle

Yes, A one word answer that would probably bring about a wave of disagreement among the majority. Humans are inherently selfish, as every individual's foremost priority is Survival.

We will always put ourselves first when we face a calamity concieving fear. Now, the first statement that you would probably propose in order to oppose this would be - What about those people who kill themselves for their near and dear ones? Are they selfish as well?

Partially Yes, if I go about asking people their biggest fear it would be the death of oneself or the death of their loved ones! So when we take a bullet for our loved ones we partially are doing it to secure ourselves from the intense harrowing mysery of loss.

Origin of selfishness

Let’s trace this unanimously labeled distasteful trait of selfishness to it’s primary origin. Heading back to the days when we had a hunched back not by technology but by nature, Stone age was a struggle in itself in the search of basic primary necessities of food, clothing and shelter and thus one rightfully states the slogan of this era - "Survival Of The Fittest"

Why do you think a society or simply speaking a group was formed? Did our forefathers require entertainment or some tea to sip on or rather a group confirmed and promised a certain level of safety and security and further made the task of hunting basic necessities a little easier? The latter right!

Formation of a society and structure is solely to mark one’s survival on Earth and thus it is also safe to say that the creation of a group is also a deed of selfishness.

An individual televisons the trait of niceness towards a group in order to be a part of it, gain a certain type of self validation or simply assure later benefits from it! Simply stating when you aid your assistance to a community, you become a person of vulue and thus in return are more valuable and powerful in that system.

And hence with adequate proof one can justify that we have inherited the trait of selfishness by our ancestors and still practice it due to the nature of a habit.

Evolutionary psychology suggests that most of our traits reflect the society existing previously as a habit of hundred thousand years requires several more centuries to be unlearned.

Types of selfish beings

However it would be unfair to announce the entire human population as a specie breeding on unhealthy selfishness, so I am going to stage and distinguish three groups of people -

1) Aware selfish, this group showcases individuals who are aware of this trait and use it to their benefit in any way possible including throttling someone for their personal gains. These are the ones we are warned to stay away by our mothers.

2) Unaware Selfish, this groups stages a bunch of individuals who don't intend to be selfish yet subconsciously give into it! These are the people who don't possess the intend to hurt you but unintentionally do the very same.

3) Concious Selfish, this group draws a clear line to their actions, they will indulge into selfishness without involving other innocent individuals. They will seek selfishness in a way that would benefit themselves and the majority around them.

Selfishness is not necessarily a vice or distasteful as stated earlier, if we constitute of the third kind. Rather selfishness is very closely related to self love, as mentioned by Aristotle in his book Nichomacian ethics. In order to fulfill one’s desires, goals and wishes, one often has to opt for selfishness to safeguard and assure success. This selfishness doesn’t necessarily consist of materialistic products and sinfully blinding words like power and fame but simply constitutes of prioritising onself over others which is the first pedestal of self love.

Conclusion

To conclude I would just State that until we learn to achieve self love without gravitating towards selfishness and finally unlearn and leave behind the rootes of the same, we can simply become aware of this trait and conciously diagnose it’s consequences before putting it into action. Because we can’t entirely blame selfishness as it has also given us a structure, system and numerous development which have made the the route to three basic necessities easier. So like every other thing we are the cause of our mysery and not a trait residing within us.

-Juhi