Why do people act the way they do?
August 1st 2006 16:03
Why DO people act the way they do???
Some time ago I reached the conclusion that any act performed by a human being is carried out for some sort of personal satisfaction. Even actions that are claimed to be carried out without any reason, or "just because" or "cause I felt like it". And even the so called "self-less" acts... Can there really be such a thing as a "self-less" act?
Let's think about that... For example - charity, sponsoring poor children... Why do people do it? To help others, to be "good"? No, I'd say people do it because they feel satisfaction from the notion that they are doing something "good" and others may perceive that "goodness" and hence they will win social admiration. Or something along those lines...
I don't believe that such a thing as a "self-less act" exists, since all actions are taken to benefit oneself in some way or another...
That doesn't mean that all actions do need justification. I do believe that a justification can exist for all actions... as in, there is a reason for doing something, no matter how insignificant or unconscious that action is... But I don't believe that all actions need explanation...
We're taught from a very young age that we must always know the reason for our actions. "Why did you do that?" "Why did you hit your sister?" When our parents ask questions of this nature, an "I don't know" answer is just not valid. And hence we are taught that we always need a reason to carry out an action. But I believe a lot of the time, there really is no logical reason for certain actions. We carry out the action and make up a justification because that's what we've been taught to do.
I think a good example of this is when you see something happen, or someone does something to you, and you just can't understand why they did it...
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Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Anonymous
Thank you for your insight. I, too, have been meditating on this for about a decade now. I believe that we are finely tuned creatures that strongly desire to satisfy those things that are most pressing needs and so on, down to those less pressing in nature. As in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, when one satisfies the higher needs, they desire to fulfill those lower needs and then the wants. We that are able to use the technology such as the internet and consider them "needs" are truly most blessed!
Comment by Anonymous