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Edited by Circadian Wolf:
1/31/2013 12:54:19 PM
6
Is a good deed always good?
I was reading that thread about the burning baby in a building and it made me think about why people do good things.
My question is this: Bearing in mind many religions state people will be judged in the afterlife for the things they do in our world, religious people have more reason to do good things than atheists. However, does this make them good deeds at all? Generally an atheist will do a good deed out of the goodness of their hearts as there is no/little personal benefiet in doing it. However, if a christian helps people just so they can be rewarded in the afterlife, is it still a selfless action or does it become more like a transaction, I'm nice here so I can live eternal happinies later on.
I am not saying all religious people are like this but there is bound to be a minority who are. How would you feel if someone helped you out not for you but merely as an ends to their own means, would you still appreciate it as much? Is a good deed done for selfish reasons still a good deed?
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One's selfishness does not matter if their deed helps someone else out. Yes, it is a good deed.
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Now this is actually a very interesting question, and my response to it generally surprises people. Many religious people, but not all, do a number of "good deeds" to basically score points with the big man upstairs. So you might make the argument that they're doing their good deed for reward, thus nullifying its true kindness. First off, not all religious people, by any means, immediately think about being rewarded with a heaven when they decide to help somebody with something. It's not like at every opportunity to do a good thing, theists naturally say "Aw, sweet, heaven points, baby!" That's silly. The inherent motivation to help someone out if they're struggling is a fairly basic trait in all people. So your argument, in short, is that a deed done for the purpose of receiving an award isn't truly a good deed. Well, why do you do good deeds? It makes you feel good, right? You receive gratification, and possibly praise? Those are all rewards, too. Whether the expected reward is of psychological origin or physical, I don't really think it matters.
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It's still good, but I think what you were really going for was whether or not any good act is truly [i]selfless[/i] if the motivation is some eternal reward. You've got a point in that there's always some selfish motivation, but I don't think that's limited to religious people. Without religious motivations, people still almost always do good things at least in some part because it makes them feel or look good to themselves or to others.
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Any Christian who does good deeds to get into Heaven, doesn't understand their own book. Or has never read it. The only "good" deed is to convert others. All other deeds are sins, because you thought you were something other than worthless scum. Anyways, to be relevant, doing something good is always good, however, doing something for no personal gain is more impressive.
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Altruism and 'goodness' aren't always the same thing; you could do an altruistic thing you think is bad, or do an altruistic act more for your own benefit than that of another.
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The fact that the act itself isn't truly selfless doesn't change it's inherent goodness. If I saved your life only because it would help me get into heaven, if I believed in such things, it would still mean that I had done a good deed.
