Are there truly any people that do good things without wanting anything in return?

Discussion in 'Philosophy' started by JamestheFreak, Feb 19, 2012.

  1. I know there have been people that do good things sometimes, but do they really do it without wanting anything in return? Things like karma make me doubt it, I mean you only give good karma because you expect something good to happen to you in return. I honestly think that even if it is a tiny bit greed is what motivates us to do this. When doing something good you probably want to have some sort of appreciation for doing it.

    So do you think people can truly be selfless with no desire of wanting anything in return for doing good deeds?
     
  2. Every time I'm do something good for someone, part of my brain is thinking "im'a get something in return after" can't really stop that:(
     
  3. Its a shame greed exists, imagine the paradise we could be living in.
     
  4. #4 ToastyRoadie, Feb 19, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 19, 2012
    I think that's the problem right there. We should expect something back, just not from that individual, kinda like that pay it forward thing.:smoke:

    I believe in the bible, so for me it's more of a "reap what you sow" kinda thing. If I plant goodness, I will get goodness in return. If I plant bad, as in cheating, stealing etc..., then that is what I will get in return. It is a natural law that has been put in to place, there is no denying it, some call it karma and it clearly exists.;) Also known as "the law of cause and effect".
     
  5. There are people that do good just to be a good person. I do good things all the time if someone looks like someone needs help. I do it because if was in their place it would appreciate if someone else did the same for me, not because I expect something back from them. Also if you do a good deed for someone there's a chance they may pass it on to someone else.
     

  6. Really???

    I think the EXACTLY opposite. I can honestly say when I do something for someone I expect nothing in return. I do it because I want to do it, and because I value them. By expecting something, you've turned the deed into something negative and thus you're worse off for having done it.

    If someone insists they reciprocate later down the line I do one of two things, if I'm genuinely hurting at that time, I'll reluctantly accept. If not, I'll ask they give it to someone that needs it.

    I'm one of the few people that really hold zero value to material things and money. It's a concept that drives greed, and provokes all kinds of other evil on mankind. I'd much rather be free from it entirely. I once lit a $100 bill on fire without hesitation after someone said I was a liar lol. Proved my point.

    Don't be greedy bastards, money really won't change the way you live your life, it'll only change what's important to you. The saddest I've ever been in my life was after I gave a guy $20 while stopped at a red light. He stood there and literally cried like a baby, and it tore me to pieces. That's when it hit me that there's so much more to life than what we choose to look at, and what we think is important. A little empathy goes a long way.
     
  7. If there are, they'll get theirs. After all, "no good deed goes unpunished."
     
  8. I've stopped and helped people on the side of the road before.. just to do it, don't really care if I get any good from it.. :smoke:
     
  9. It comes down to the way we evolved. Spending resources (time, food, money, shelter, etc..) on strangers decreases the amount of resources we spend on ourselves and family. For the individual's survival, it makes the most sense to keep your resources to yourself, or share them with others knowing you will one day be reciprocated.

    That being said, there are examples of pure, non-reciprocal altruism. People have put themselves in extreme danger and even given their lives for complete strangers before. A less extreme example...when I give money to bums, I do get that feeling like I'll be rewarded somehow. However, I know that karma is the spiritual sense doesn't exist, and I will not be receiving some mystic award...I do it solely to help another human being. I think that feeling is just the result of millions of years of evolution and expecting to receive something in return for resources spent.
     

  10. We should do everything to the glory of God, that Christ be seen through us. That is why Christians do good things. It is the only reason we are here- to be testimonies of God's grace and love to the unsaved. If this wasn't so, He should just take us home. We shouldn't expect anything in return here on earth because the things of this world are vanity and won't last. God has already given us His greatest gift- salvation through Jesus Christ, so expecting material things in return for things we do for God here on earth is not biblical. We lay up treasures in heaven.
     
  11. I do good things all the time without expecting anything in return. Some good karma would be great tho now that I think about it.....
     
  12. Usually when people do things, they don't know if it's good or bad.

    They just do it because at the time, it was the only thing to do.

    For example, saving a drowning person.

    A lifeguard doesn't think if he's about to do a good thing or a bad thing, he just dives in and pulls the drowning man out of the water.

    Then after it is done, he will think,

    "Did I do a good thing? Or a bad thing?"

    He may think that it was a good thing... and secretly desire some kind of reward from heaven or something like that...

    Or may be he could think that it was a bad thing and wished he didn't do it... (for instance, the drowning man was a serial killer.)

    But regardless to what he thinks, or what anyone else thinks, nothing about what he did changes.

    He saved a man from drowning, and that's that.
     
  13. If I hold the door open for someone, I do not expect them or anyone to walk ahead of me and hold the door open for me. If someone expects karma, good or bad, then they don't understand karma as what it is meant to be.
    “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
    That is karma. If you do good to 'build up good karma', then you're not really doing good, rather you are expecting good and doing whatever necessary to achieve said 'good'.
     
  14. Amen to that.:D Seek ye first the kingdom of God.

    What I was trying to say is God will reward us, here on earth and in heaven, not to expect it from the person you did the good deed for.
     
  15. #16 Fresh Error, Feb 20, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 20, 2012
    the only reward i need/want for helpin people out is feeling good about myself. it feels good to help people. it's rewarding knowing that you dedicated your time to make someones life better.

    fuck karma and reward from god and all that bullshit. if you believe you should be rewarded by the people you help, or that you'll be rewarded by karma or god, no matter what you're doing, it really isn't with pure intentions.
     
  16. If I ever doing anything nice I only do it cause I feel like it.
     
  17. I do good things without expecting anything
     
  18. well, yes, even in the event of the most altruistic acts possible.. the person doing them probably isn't acting against an extreme desire NOT to perform the acts.

    so altruism has to be reduced a little bit from its definition, if you examine it as closely as you are. even though i expect nothing in return from people, karma, or god.. i still do good things and help people ultimately because i'm driven to. because i like making peoples lives better. because it makes me feel good. it's a worthy way to spend my time.

    so, even without expecting anything in return-- i still do good things because i want to. it's not like i'm fighting a tendency to never wanna help people or something. lol

    i just enjoy it.
     
  19. I don't enjoy helping others but I don't hate it either. I could care less about being thanked when doing something nice. I dunno why I do it, I guess I just do what I wanna do.
     

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