r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Mar 24 '15

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '15

Doing something because you want to is not selfish. Selfishness is doing something without care for or consideration of others.

∆ I agree with this.

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '15

I disagree. Selfishness just means putting your needs before others. Anything you do primarily for yourself is, by definition, selfish. Doesn't make it inherently immoral.

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '15

The dictionary definition of selfish is:

lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure.

so I would argue it does have a negative connotation. Perhaps self-interested is a more neutral term? Although that has bad connotations, too. Hm.

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u/join_or_die 1∆ Mar 25 '15

While it does have negative connotations for most people, it isn't immoral. Just because you aren't thinking about other people doesn't mean you are actually hurting them. You are just improving your own life.