tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13055290723028357.post1845881142017444213..comments2023-05-21T04:04:14.577-04:00Comments on The Thoughtful Gamers: Self Interestmagx01http://www.blogger.com/profile/14831638782847911405noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13055290723028357.post-47568029513899885512012-04-13T04:52:44.158-04:002012-04-13T04:52:44.158-04:00Well, when it comes to the average Joe/Joanne Schm...Well, when it comes to the average Joe/Joanne Schmo, I really don't think many of his/her friends care that they donate to charity lol. I just don't see that many average people proclaiming that they donate to charity unless they're at some church group, book club, or some family gathering or something. <br /><br />But the act of donating to charities, organizations, and schools is surely, at least partially, motivated by a self-serving desire to make ourselves feel good about ourselves and increase our self-worth. I don't doubt that for a second. <br /><br />Celebrities on the other hand... well, ya that's a different story. The concept of "Celebrity Aid/Charity", as well as aid campaigns that try to recruit a bunch of naive (but good-intentioned) westerners like Kony 2012, and the often negative impact that those things have is a topic that I've read and thought about a lot about during a class I took last year.<br /><br /> Ultimately, I believe that very few celebrities/corporations do some kind of aid/charity thing SOLELY as a publicity stunt. That may be part of it, but I think it's more of a "How can I use my public image to shine a light on a serious topic while ALSO improving my name and expanding my image?" sort of thing. I believe that there's still the inherent desire to want to do good, but there's also the factor of trying to maintain a good public image. And of course, trying to raise your self-worth is still a factor too in my opinion.mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00151721524487034813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13055290723028357.post-40656760355765601502012-04-11T13:11:36.803-04:002012-04-11T13:11:36.803-04:00Or companies/rich celebrities will do it and then ...Or companies/rich celebrities will do it and then they (or their publicist) will make it public via news release or something.magx01https://www.blogger.com/profile/14831638782847911405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13055290723028357.post-28192500238948956712012-04-11T13:10:48.671-04:002012-04-11T13:10:48.671-04:00Thanks for the excellent comment, good sir :)
One...Thanks for the excellent comment, good sir :)<br /><br />One thing that comes to mind for me is when people will do something like say, donate to charity, and then 'tweet' it.magx01https://www.blogger.com/profile/14831638782847911405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13055290723028357.post-48848544673081800782012-04-10T06:36:40.137-04:002012-04-10T06:36:40.137-04:00Interesting topic, something that I find myself th...Interesting topic, something that I find myself thinking about sometimes. I think the idea of "self interest" and "altruism" would have to be examined and discussed differently depending on if you are talking about the "individual" or the "corporation/government" because of the complex issues and motivations surrounding business/financial interests and foreign policy for corporations and governments, respectively. <br /><br />I can probably examine the reasons why I personally perform actions such as helping others (an action whose motivations may differ depending on context)and hanging out with people. After some personal introspection, I have a few reasons as to why I may perform such actoins:<br /><br />1. Being around people I care about makes me happy and increases my self-worth.<br /><br />2. It increases my social standing and social "reputation", in that the people I care about will ideally grow closer to me (and I to them), will think more highly of me, and will take more of an interest in me so that they will keep wanting to hang out in the future.<br /><br />3. If a loved one is feeling troubled and is in need of emotional support, or if they need physical help(moving out of an apartment), I would want to help because it alleviates their troubles and benefits them, and I want my loved ones to be happy.<br /><br />Looking at the first two reasons, it seems that I perform these actions mainly for my own self interest. I want to be happy, I want others to take an interest in me, and I want others to think kindly of me so that they will keep wanting to hang out. The third reason can be seen as an altruistic reason, but I also think that there may be a self-interest motivation at play here also; I want to help the people I love, but I also want to help them because doing so would benefit me socially.<br /><br />However, as you wrote, I don't (usually) think about these things when the situation arises. I don't start saying to myself "If I eat lunch with my friend, he will owe me something later". But I personally believe that these motivations play a part in our actions, sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously.mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00151721524487034813noreply@blogger.com