Does honesty exist?

Roger, Dan.

I should have asked this earlier,


What do you consider a selfless act of kindness?
 
Joz said:
Roger, Dan.

I should have asked this earlier,


What do you consider a selfless act of kindness?

An act done only for the sake of kindness, no ulterior motives or recognition being sought, or any form of repayment, done only for personal satisfaction and the embetterment of others.
 
Semper Fi said:
An act done only for the sake of kindness, no ulterior motives or recognition being sought, or any form of repayment, done only for personal satisfaction and the embetterment of others.
Can you give me an example?
 
Joz said:
Can you give me an example?

NO!




Someone I don't know asks me for a quarter to make a phonecall, so I give it to him, is a selfless act of kindness. Going out of my way to look up something for a friend while not at all benefitting me is an act of kindness. I was just wondering if I was the only one that believed in that sort of thing.
 
Each individual has their own motivation. Personally, I do these "random acts" because I want to - the timing is right - makes me feel good, etc.

I have seen a husband and wife with 5 kids at breakfast. They aren't "homeless" but it is obvious that times are not easy - I have paid for their breakfast.

I have seen someone in the military dining with their family or another military member. I have paid for their meal.

The above two examples I have done anonymously and not anonymously.

I have made up the difference at the grocery store for someone ahead of me in line who is a little short of cash to pay the total.

Kids on the corner selling lemonade for a quarter a cup; I'll buy a cup and give them a dollar.

You are not the only person who thinks this or does this.

More people should.


Sometimes I'll do it, sometimes I won't. Depends on my mood and how "what I see" makes me feel at the time.
 
Resist cynicism. Good news for you, I can guarantee you that there are definitely random acts of kindness in the world. Dan's right; assholes just get all the attention. Even if there were no random acts of kindness left in this world, that should not halt you from contributing your own.
 
GotZoom said:
Each individual has their own motivation. Personally, I do these "random acts" because I want to - the timing is right - makes me feel good, etc.

I have seen a husband and wife with 5 kids at breakfast. They aren't "homeless" but it is obvious that times are not easy - I have paid for their breakfast.

I have seen someone in the military dining with their family or another military member. I have paid for their meal.

The above two examples I have done anonymously and not anonymously.

I have made up the difference at the grocery store for someone ahead of me in line who is a little short of cash to pay the total.

Kids on the corner selling lemonade for a quarter a cup; I'll buy a cup and give them a dollar.

You are not the only person who thinks this or does this.

More people should.


Sometimes I'll do it, sometimes I won't. Depends on my mood and how "what I see" makes me feel at the time.

Twins! I have done all that myself cept the lemonade one.
Like you, sometimes I'll do it, sometimes I won't.
My motivation? Because I can, and know that the act would make someone else feel good, not me. Sure it feels good, but that's just an after effect in my mind. Kind of a spiritual thank you.
 
Semper, your original question was "does HONESTY exist?" I think it's interesting that "honesty" naturally morphed into "unselfishness" in this conversation.

My POV is that both do exist. Someone can perform an act of kindness that does not benefit himself. This can be either selfish or unselfish. If he does the act with the major motivating factor being that he can feel good about himself, that's selfish. If he does the act out of empathy for another person, and then just happens to feel good afterward, that is unselfish.

"Honesty" (actually, more likely "dishonesty") comes into play when someone performs an act of kindness because he sees an opportunity to "look good," and then afterward congratulates himself on how "unselfish" he is.

But, feeling good about an unselfish act is not necessarily a dishonest thing. If you were truly acting unselfishly, you WERE being "good"; it is only natural (and honest!) that you should feel good if you were good.
 
Mr. P said:
Twins! I have done all that myself cept the lemonade one.
Like you, sometimes I'll do it, sometimes I won't.
My motivation? Because I can, and know that the act would make someone else feel good, not me. Sure it feels good, but that's just an after effect in my mind. Kind of a spiritual thank you.

That is exactly it.

You got it!

:beer:
 

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