If I do something good because it makes me feel like a good person, is that technically selfish?
no, only if you're choosing to make others suffer to make yourself feel good
enjoying making other people happy is a great thing
There is a Jewish story about a wealthy man who came to his rabbi and said âI have decided to build an orphanage, can you put me in touch with the relevant peopleâ Â
The rabbi was delighted to do it, and introduced the man to some charities. After a few weeks, the man came back to the rabbi.
âI have decided not to build the orphanage,â he said.  âI realised that I was only doing it because I wanted to be admired as a philanthropist, my motives were selfish.â
The rabbi answered, âdo you think the orphans will care what your motives were? Build the orphanage!â
this... makes a very good point.
According to ongoing studies into happiness in the psych department at Berkeley, making yourself happy by making other people happy is how itâs meant to work
I feel like this is such a common idea, and I just want to extrapolate it to its logical conclusion. If it is wrong to make others happy or do objectively charitable things when it also makes you happy, then in this moral model, you are MEANT to be miserable. Not only is your own happiness weighted negatively, itâs given such a large weight that your unhappiness is more important than the happiness of many others. So the most moral thing anyone can do is actively make themselves unhappy, with no regard for anyone else. That is⌠not a world I want to live in.
