2025-09-26
I believe human action is rooted in selfish motivation, meaning all action, is subconsciously selfish. The dog is obedient because it is trained such that it is in their best interest to be so. Selfless action can be rationalized as selfish, even irrational actions, being irrational does not mean being selfless. Take a classic example, a soldier jumping on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers. In the psychological egoist framework, one might explain this with societal pressures which train people(especially men) to act selflessly, even at the cost of their lives. I for one would like to say I would jump on the grenade, because it would be honorable(and therefore good), not because I am selfless.
Accepting this, then humans(and all animals which exercise agency(not freewill)) are on a constant self-serving adventure with no end in sight. From an abstract point of view, the man who jumps on the grenade and the man who does not are the same. They both exemplify the culmination of their reward system. As some say there are no bad dogs, only poorly trained ones, this might be true in the practical(non abstract) sense. Whenever someone acts in a way which might defy your understanding, it is a fun thought experiment to figure out what feeling they must get from the act. One quote which I will paraphrase goes: "When a smart man comes to a conclusion which is clearly irrational, you should try to understand how they came to the conclusion". I find it depressing to think of humans who act in ways that are pleasing to them, yet detrimental. Being stuck in a loop which you have no control over, battling with the reward system.
As a result my satisfaction comes from a lack of action, a lack of urge. If one can be satisfied with nothing, then satisfaction simply is, there is no action along with it. With this in mind, you can avoid plenty headaches. This is no surprise, as it is greatly similar to asceticism. Remove the spiritualism, and what remains is a practical asceticism much like this. If every action is selfish, then the only way to be free of the loop is not to act at all. Satisfaction without action is the closest thing to liberation. The claim is unfalsifiable, but so is much of lived reality. Embrace the absurd, at some point you must choose an unfalsifiable worldview, whatever it is, you must live with it.