I'm really interested in the difference between selfishness and generosity. It confuses me to no end because sometimes it all just feels like pure indulgence on my part.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
This idea of selfishness as a virtue, as opposed to generosity: That, to me, is unnatural.
Being selfish to me means that you have to look out for yourself and you don't have to sacrifice.
We are selfish when we are exclusively or predominantly concerned with the good for ourselves. We are altruistic when we are exclusively or predominantly concerned with the good of others.
Generosity is nothing else than a craze to possess. All which I abandon, all which I give, I enjoy in a higher manner through the fact that I give it away. To give is to enjoy possessively the object which one gives.
It's also selfish because it makes you feel good when you help others. I've been helped by acts of kindness from strangers. That's why we're here, after all, to help others.
What is called generosity is usually only the vanity of giving; we enjoy the vanity more than the thing given.
Generosity during life is a very different thing from generosity in the hour of death; one proceeds from genuine liberality and benevolence, the other from pride or fear.
I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle.
You do have to be fairly selfish when you have a gift. You cannot afford to let too many outside things get in the way.
That's why charity work is very selfish at the same time, because it makes you feel good.
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