Why is Every Human Being so Selfish?

Opinion

It’s a well-known fact that human beings are social animals. Human being cannot exist alone. In every second of life, one human being needs the support of another human being to survive.

It could be the occasion of a baptism or a marriage ceremony, club party or funeral ceremony, in every beautiful and tragic moment of life, human beings need somebody to share their feelings and expressions. In fact not only human beings, but every creature in this world, cannot exist alone. In spite of all of this, every human being is selfish and self-oriented. Every human being always wants self-progress and development. No one wants others to be happy and prosperous, but why?

When a person grows up, they say, “I came alone into this world and I will go out alone.” But they forget that there was somebody who brought them to come into this world. As soon as a baby is born, he/she starts to cry. The baby does not cry for others, he cries for himself so that he can get milk to drink and survive. So, humans appear selfish by birth. But is this behavior natural or is it rather a habit that they develop when they come into this world?

This totally confuses me! Do we develop this at birth or do we acquire it later? Does the social environment teach human beings to be selfish? Can any human being be free of this natural disease of humans – “selfishness” or not? How would human beings be if they were not selfish? How would the world be with the people who were not selfish? Would that world look the same as our world today or would it be different? Would that world be as developed as today’s world or more developed? These are burning questions for me!

It is a well-known fact that humans are the most intelligent beings in this world. Human beings have progressed greatly in different aspects of development. Humans have made this world very narrow and almost artificial. But the only thing that humans are not able to do, from my point of view, is to free themselves from the natural human disease of “selfishness”.

Can we be human and not selfish? Humans have never been free of selfishness, but why is this? Why do human beings always only refer to “I” and “my”? Are corruption and discrimination the ultimate result of this selfishness? Humans always think first about themselves and only afterwards about others. Regardless of the situation, humans first think about what benefit or advantage they can gain and only think about others afterwards.

Why is this? Is this the fault of God or of us as humans? Who is to blame for this selfishness? Is it a good or a bad thing to be selfish? Humans consider themselves to be the most superior beings on the planet. We have naturally learned to think only about ourselves, but why? People talk a lot about helping others but they don’t unless they see that they too can benefit from doing so. Why?

What is responsible for making people so selfish? Is it the role of the heart or the mind that lies within the human body? It is said that those who listen to their mind are selfish while those who think from their heart are kind. Is this true or just a saying? If so, what might be the number of people in this world who think via their heart? Are people who listen to their heart really helpful? How many people might be roaming this world who are helpful?

In some cases people think about others but while doing so, they look for an advantage for themselves. Is this selfishness related to Charles Darwin’s theory of “struggle for existence”? Are people selfish merely in order to survive or are there other reasons?

It is said that the finest thing and the most holy and noble deed in this world is to help others. Every religion says that serving others is the only true religion that exists in this world.

But, being the most intelligent being in the world, why can every human being not serve others rather than just himself/herself? Is this selfishness the reason for the existence of superiority and inferiority in this world? Is it because we are selfish that we want to be very rich? Is selfishness the reason for all the corruption, criminal activities and murders in this world? Is selfishness the reason why people are unhappy in this world? Is selfishness the reason behind many great world wars? Can a human brain control how selfish humans are? If yes, why has this not happened until now?

I think the reason why people are selfish is due to the greedy nature of people. Or, it may be that selfishness makes people greedy.

Once again, all these questions lead to me being confused but ultimately I would like to see a world filled with people with holy hearts and minds.

I think that if a person starts to think about others in a positive manner, many things in this world can be changed and improved. In order to achieve this, people have to think at the highest level rather than merely thinking about themselves as an individual and considering the benefits and advantages that they may gain from their conduct.

It is a well-known fact that we cannot take anything from this world with us when we die. People even leave their own bodies in this world after their death. If we say that there is nobody who thinks about the welfare of others, this will also be an injustice to some great personalities who sacrificed their lives for others.

Because this world has witnessed many people who always thought about others without being selfish, such as Florence Nightingale, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, to name but a few.

I think that humans, being one of the most superior and intelligent beings in this world, must be free from every kind of selfishness. We should come out of the world of selfishness and try to live for others. Humans must listen to their hearts and their minds – I would like to live in a world where everyone is equal and happy and where everyone has equal access to all rights and freedoms. Humans have the power and potential to help all helpless creatures in this world and to make this world a happy and peaceful place.

Credits

Image	Title	Author	License
	Why is Every Human Being so Selfish?	Fabrice Florin	CC BY-SA 4.0