Chad asked:

If you get satisfaction from helping others, dose that make you a selfish person? why or why not?

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No. Selfish acts are those where the self is satisfied at the expense of another and his/her interests.
They are acts which are detrimental to others. Acts done out of self-interest where the subject has an
ulterior motive to an act that benefits others may be self-interested but I don't think they can be
termed selfish.

Moreover Chad, the question you ask implies the existence of a pure, autonomous, self-contained
metaphysical self, the unified self of consciousness and will. This is found classically in Descartes.
However, from Hegel onwards, in Marx, in Husserl and in Heidegger we find the Cartesian view of the
self challenged. Perhaps pursuing some of these thinkers will further answer your question or even,
undermine it?

Martin Jenkins

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