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Can A Human Be Selfless?

Mr Inman

Today we spoke about philosophy and I asked you to think about a philosophical question. Is it possible for a person to be truly selfless?

By this what I mean is, does a person in their life ever act solely out of generosity and kindness without any thought of the benefit to themselves.

For instance: giving to charity is clearly a generous and kind thing to do… but does the giver get anything out of it alongside the receiver? And does it matter anyway. The giver may get that warm fuzzy feeling, they may tell friends and family as a status symbol or perhaps choose a charity that may benefit a loved one or even potentially themselves.

So your task is to think about this question and consider the answer in YOUR opinion. It’s a philosophical question. There isn’t really a right or a wrong answer (as far as I know) but I’d be fascinated to hear your thoughts.

Please provide examples to back up your opinion these can be hypothetical (made up but realistic) or could be real life. Make sure if you’re giving examples about someone that you know that you get permission from them first or don’t identify who they are.

Look forward to reading your responses. Year 6.

33 responses to “Can A Human Be Selfless?”

  1. Samanta V.

    Despite our reputation as selfish creatures, human beings are also capable of apparently altruistic acts. The reasons for our altruism have long puzzled researchers, but a study out today suggests a simple explanation: Each altruist act is a choice just like any other, with pros, cons, and even the occasional mistake.

  2. Maryam G.

    In my opinion a human cannot be selfless because they are doing something that helps someone else, how can that make you feel doing something for the sake of doing it when you are being respectful and helping others in need.

  3. Hammad A.

    No i do not think a human can be selfless because they also have to think about relationship and family. I want to say when you care about your family and relationship it gives you peace and satisfaction.

  4. Jasmine M.

    In my opinion, a human can’t be selfless because whatever you do then can be a little bit of selfishness and for example if I donate food or clothes I’ll feel elated

  5. Tahiyan C.

    No, I don’t think anyone can as they might know that their kindness will come back one day.

  6. Sumayyah A.

    I think a human who does a good deed they will feel good even if there not doing it because something happened there just doing it truly in there heart.

  7. Muhammed A.

    I think yes because human can do act for themselves but do kind stuff to others aswell

  8. Muhammad S.

    in my opinion giving charity is rewarding because the given itself its a satisfaction and the feeling u get afterward no martials things could replace it

  9. Aysha

    I think yes because let’s say someone say has spare food and say they are full in front of a poor person and that poor person is asking for change or food they might ask you . As soon as that person notices the homeless person the might say I am hungry again because the dont want to give it the spare food to the homeless person and walk off .
    That’s why I think people can be selfless

  10. Afreen S.

    I don’t think a human can be selfless because there is still an emotion inside of you that makes you feel good for example if you were just walking out of the shops and you’ve seen a homeless person and you gave them some change that would’ve made you feel better and the homeless person as well.

  11. Brooke M.

    In my opinion a human can be selfless because if a human gave clothes to charity or food that they still want but think it is kind they are being selfless so I think a human can be selfless.

  12. Amanah S.

    In my opinion , humans cannot be selfless because whatever you do there would be a bit of selfishness in it. E.G if you give something to charity, you would want some attention for the good deed you did, that has a bit of selfishness in it even if you did a selfless activity.

  13. Lillie S.

    I don’t think so because let’s say I donate I feel happy, if I help someone I’ll feel good!

  14. Safiyah P.

    I think a human can’t be selfless because if you help someone in need or give to a charity you might tell someone about your actions and that is doing someone for your self which is giving your self a good reputation.

  15. Aleena I.

    In my opinion I think that a human can’t do a kind act without having a selfish motive. Even if you do a kind act without anyone noticing you still get a good feeling inside and that’s the reason you do it.

  16. Azaan H.

    I think we can all be selfless because you can pick up a coat without being selfless.

  17. Manvi R.

    Humans can not be selfless because we live in a society that expects something every time they do something nice. When someone does something kind they will think “what will I get?”

  18. Yaw A.

    Humans can be selfless. It is a bit like being generous. You don’t really expect anything back from their benefit, and even if you gain happiness for yourself, it isn’t from them. It’s just being proud of yourself when you do something and getting self gain. But at the same time also, you can’t really be selfless as you still are gaining something from giving to others.
    Some people also like to be selfless on purpose to gain praise from others.
    But that’s only my point of view!

  19. Israa F.

    In my opinion I think some people can be selfless for example helping the homeless people and give some money to charity but it is sad when you have to tell your backstory like when you lost a member of your family or a VERY close friend.

    P.S: thank you Mr Inman for this philosophical question have a great day to you all 😊

  20. Fariha A.

    My own opinion on this is that yes, people can be selfless after giving a donation to charity or helping someone because I myself have indeed been selfless before. This is because you wouldn’t really want to have anything in return because it would make you feel selfish.
    This is my opinion and point of view on this philosophical question.

  21. Surinder J.

    I don’t think humans can be selfless because if you do something kind,e.g someone falls over and you help them up, you might hurt them with your strong grip. And you tried to do something kind. But sometimes people can be selfless if they put themselves in front of others. For example , if you finish eating something, you throw it on the floor and say “ Someone else will pick it up.” People can sometimes be selfless or not be selfless.

  22. Lawy A.

    No because if you give something to people in need you will be pround of yourself.

  23. Aisha R.

    I don’t think a human can be selfless because even if you do a kind thing for someone it is a little selfish since you have a good feeling inside of you. If you give clothes to charity you are doing it to help the poor but you are also just getting rid of your own stuff.

  24. Sara M.

    Sum People Can be selflesd but not all People.

  25. Nihit N.

    In my personal opinion, if I did a good deed, e.g., donating food or money to charity, I would feel good even if I got absolutely nothing in return, so I cannot do a good deed without feeling good about it.

    1. Mr Inman

      Yeah. I agree. So similar to Luxor’s response, the fact that you got satisfaction makes it the opposite of selfish because all it goes to prove is that you’re a good person in the first place!

  26. Luxor A.

    In my own opinion I think yes because they can do stuff or acts for themselves. Not all the time because there brain won’t automatically be selfless and they might occasionally help other and people around them cause it won’t just benefit you but it will benefit other and their brain will notice that change and carry on doing it.

    1. Mr Inman

      Yeah. I mean if you were asked to spend 20 minutes filling out a form and if you did it, someone in Columbia would get free hospital treatment. You’d never meet them and you were asked to keep it confidential (secret) – or they wouldn’t receive the treatment, I suspect you’d do it anyway. The fact that you get self satisfaction in it merely proves that the individual is a good and kind human.

  27. Inaaya S.

    In my opinion I believe that a human can,t be selfless if you something
    kind for in example helping a homeless how will always have a motive like being noticed for good deeds or getting good fortune for doing something nice and get a lot of attention.

    1. Mr Inman

      Maybe the question is unfair and while what you are saying is correct, that should in no way mean that the kind act is any less kind than if it was done with some self satisfaction within it.

  28. Prisha T.

    In my opinion, I believe that a human can’t be selfless because if you do something kind for example helping a homeless person, you will always have a motive like being noticed for a good deed or getting good fortune for doing something nice and get a lot of attention. I know this because sometimes in ads, I’ve seen people sponsoring for a charities that are attached to them like if someone had died of lung disease, they would sponsor a lung disease charity and that’s showing they only care about the person they have lost and not caring about others. This shows they want to be famous because of their backstory + they’re very proudly and to be honest, it’s not very happy that you are telling someone you have lost a member of family or close friend. That’s my view!

    P.S: Thank you Mr Inman for this philosophical question; really got me thinking!😊

    1. Mr Inman

      Excellent! And thank you for a measured and intelligent response. I guess a further question is are people only motivated by their own benefits. I guess to test these philosophies, you have to take on some really strange hypothesis.

      I’d like to think you’re wrong! But understand completely where you are coming from and you back up your perspective brilliantly. Like I said, I’m not sure there is an answer, but it’s fascinating to think about.

      1. Prisha T.

        In my believe, I think that people are motivated by their own benefits because for example, you are living on funds and a few days later, you start boasting about how much you get and like the support you have and you motivate yourself by telling people about your life and that makes you feel proud. Adding on to that, it’s not much of a thing to be proud of .In fact, it just shows that you should be grateful and not stop on the road and say this to a random person; ” Hey there, do you know that I live on funds ect…”. That’s what I mean by. I know this because there are some people who brag about their life that it’s perfect ect… . Some people are careless with what they get and spend it on useless items like drugs, cigarettes and much more even I don’t know of! So that was my view. Hope you enjoy!

        P.S: Thank Mr Inman for this question!
        P.P.S: May Her Majesty’s Soul Rest In Peace.

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