Making Sense of Making Sense of it All:A Few Thoughts on the Nature of Our Actions

Hello, reader. As a sophomore philosophy major with a minor in English, I like to think about ideas and the interaction between humans and ideas. In this column, I noodle the role self-interest plays in my actions. This is a muddled, complicated issue – one I intend to explore.

Here’s my first question: Are all my actions simply self-interested at their core? Personally, I find this idea terribly repulsive, and yet it does appear to be the case. Or, more specifically, it seems as though I can’t be sure whether or not my actions are inherently self-interested. For example, recently I had dinner at Culvers and was asked by the cashier if I’d like to donate a dollar to Haiti relief. I did. But why did I do that? Was it because of compassion, benevolence, empathy, goodwill, etc.? Or was the intent of my donation less altruistic and more egocentric? Maybe the intent of my donation wasn’t so humanitarian at all. Possibly, instead of being concerned with selflessness and philanthropy, I was more concerned with my image in the eyes of the cashier. Perhaps I simply wanted to feel a little better about myself.

To be sure, I feel horrible about the earthquake in Haiti and all the suffering it caused, and I’d like to do anything I can to ease whatever suffering there is in this world. But the question still remains: Why do I feel this way? Like it or not, the image I project on those I come into contact with and the opinions they have of me weighs a great deal on my mind. I don’t always like to admit this so casually, but I also don’t think I’m alone in being overly concerned about my self-image. And a dilemma I constantly quarrel with is: To what degree do I let peer-opinion and self-consciousness weigh on the intent behind my actions? I think this an important question because it relates back to my natural self-interest; e.g., I care about what other people think about me so that I can feel better about myself.

Supposing that all my actions are to a certain degree self-interested: is this bad? Well, that’s a tough question, and one I don’t want to get bogged down with because it seems plagued with subjectivity and ambiguity, morally speaking. But one thing I’m sure of is this: I don’t like the idea that all my actions are naturally self-interested. This seems like a sad way to live because I feel as though this somehow taints my actions. I want to be inherently benevolent and compassionate, but instead, these actions that appear as caring and good are really just my way of feeling better about myself. Sure, I can help other people, but now I feel as though I’m doing it for the wrong reasons.

How can I reconcile this? How can I live with knowing that all my actions may be inherently self-interested? I can find some solace in my finding egocentrism repugnant. Even if this is the way we live, I’d rather delude myself into thinking otherwise. This leads to just blindly grabbing for an illusion so that I can delude myself into thinking that there’s more to us than self-interest. But here I am again trying to feel better about myself...but then again, I’m also trying to feel better about humankind as well. So I guess I’m willing to accept the illusion of altruism as opposed to the bitter tang of reality and what it might say about who we really are and how we really act.

Ultimately, whether or not the intent of our actions is self-interest can’t really be known. What I do know is that we cling to things in this life, and what we cling to can either save or ruin us. My prescription is that if an idea helps you, cultivate and nourish it; if it hurts you, murder it, or at least maim it into immobility. Even if all our actions are inherently egocentric, I’ll cling to the idea that we’re naturally selfless and benevolent.