[lit-ideas] Re: Sacrifice
- From: "Mirembe Nantongo" <nantongo@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 07:34:12 +0100
Julie writes:
> It has always been my contention that there is no such
> thing as real altruism because the person acting altruistically finds
> pleasure in being altruistic or they wouldn't be .... what am I missing?
Nothing, as far as I can see. As I wrote in my first post on this thread:
"It seems to me they (sacrifiers or whatever the active participle is)
mostly just go ahead and do what they think should be done at the moment ie
what makes them feel good, or, failing that, feel better."
But perhaps the societal value and definition of altruism (like that of
sacrifice, I contend) lies in the beholder's view of it. That is -
it doesn't matter why you did what you did, what matters is the
fact that you did it.
Eric makes a good point about the total absence of a rational process in
some "high action" sacrifice processes, saying of his pit bull encounter:
"There was no weighing of values. There was just immediate action."
Yesterday on the beach a big growling dog with hackles raised and
teeth bared came bounding up behind my older son as he was skipping stones
on the water. I am normally terrified of strange dogs in the developing
world - not least because of the ever-present possibility of rabies -
but I just found myself running straight for the dog before it could get to
Sebastian, waving my arms and shrieking an English vocative
particle at it. The point being, not whether mine was a correct course of
action, but the fact that no thought whatsoever preceded it.
Of course, absence of rational thought isn't a sine qua non for sacrifice.
Consider Captain Oates spending some time writing in his journal before
calmly announcing: "I am just going outside and may be some time."
All best, Mirembe
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