Reply #59: On Charity and Self-Interest [View All]

One could argue that helping others IS in their own self interest in the long run.

The more people that are raised out of destitution and helplessness, the better it is for everybody for numerous reasons. Destitute, helpless people will be more prone to violence, uprisings etc.

Charity/selflessness/cooperation ultimately leads to a more stable society which is for the "greater good". It can also lead to emulation.

Ultimately the human race is not about the survival of the individual but of the race as a whole. This is achieved much more effectively through cooperation and selflessness. The ultimate morality would be those actions that further the cause of the survival and progress of the race as a whole.

I don't think there is any reason to bring a higher power into questions of morality. I think reason is sufficient to bring one to morality. Moral actions, actions that further the survival and progress of the race as a whole, are actions that involve selflessness and cooperation and valuing the needs of the many over the needs (or desires) of the few (to borrow from Star Trek). A higher power is irrelevant in this line of reasoning.