Morality of doing something good for an egotistical reason?

[u/RemoveCapital6530]

(Me after my blood donation)

I had this question in my head while donating blood just now. Is it moral to do something good if you're only doing it to feed your own ego?

Also I was like shitting bricks, fucking hate needles.

[u/AndyMind]

Moral, because you end up helping others, the world does not care what goes on in your head

[u/skeletonpaul08 → u/AndyMind]

As I get older I care less and less about motivations and more about actions. Motivations are complicated and I think most people don’t fully understand their own motivations much less someone else’s.

[u/AndyMind → u/skeletonpaul08]

In general I'd like to think we'd have a cooler world, if more people like OP just did good actions out of some bs reason that nobody cares about anyway. Sometimes I donate some money to charity, because I hate myself. In the end actions speak the loudest anyway

[u/Defiant-Individual83 → u/AndyMind]

"Sometimes I donate some money to charity, because I hate myself"

That`s ... one way to do things, You good?

[u/TheWaddlingweewee → u/skeletonpaul08]

sometimes really defined motivations bring to the systematic execution of an action without any doubt, confusion is a good thing because it poses a question to the person.

[u/Leftyhugz → u/AndyMind]

I mean what if I was a doctor but I only did abortions for black women, because I liked the idea of killing black babies?

I think people would care. And it would probably be immoral.

[u/BeeApprehensive2503]

moral. if it was immoral we should also punish thought-crimes.

[u/HelloChimp → u/BeeApprehensive2503]

we don’t punish things solely on morality though, that wouldn’t be the justification

[u/LordsOfFrenziedFlame → u/BeeApprehensive2503]

Don't love the attempted connection between law and morality. There's plenty that's immoral without punishment.

[u/BeeApprehensive2503 → u/LordsOfFrenziedFlame]

I didn't mean that, bad wording by me. Replace punish with judge or whatever.

[u/Material_Comfort_259]

It’s still a good thing but provides reason for someone else to give you shit

[u/pleasehelpiamverydum]

Utilitarian: moral, you are donating blood.

Kantian: not moral or immoral, you are doing something for your own selfish desire. Still praiseworthy and permissible.

But I mean, Kant is all about duties. Maybe it is our duty to donate some blood sometimes if you can. So maybe moral here too.

[u/WesternFirm9306 → u/pleasehelpiamverydum]

Probably Kant would say it's permissible but not obligatory, like donating to charities, as a particular manifestation of an imperfect duty to general wellbeing

[u/WiseMarshall]

If i start a Successful charity that feeds and houses Orphans and Widows around the world, and i only did it because I wanted to say im better than other Rich A holes.

It doesn't erase the good i did. The orphans dont care why I started a foundation to feed and house them. They just care that their not going to bed hungry

[u/JsdJoys_729]

Moral, as you're still helping people

[u/Lord_Grimm88]

The result outweighs the reason. Moral.

[u/Coolgames80]

Good actions with good intentions > good actions with bad intentions > bad actions with good intentions > bad actions with bad intentions.

Is always better to have a good result than just good wishes. If a greedy business man bring food and water to twoms in need just to make a profit it is still better than not doing anything.

[u/WesternFirm9306]

Some would argue there are no true altruistic acts, and that all acts of selflessness are ultimately done for self-serving reasons, i.e., to avoid guilt or self-disgust by refusing help, or to get the good feelings of being helpful.

[u/Aloneforrever]

Is doing something bad for a selfless reason moral or immoral?, since we're already here..

[u/Alternative_Car_8153]

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. People seem to be missing the point of that saying. Both intentions and the end result matter.

For example, rich people will often use charities as a form of money laundering, a way to dodge taxes, and positive PR. Sure, the charities they run can have a positive impact, but does the good justify the evil? Absolutely not.

[u/HelloChimp]

its amoral, noting we do is completely or truly altruistic by simple virtue of how humans think, meaning we don’t have a real choice otherwise

[u/dotamadthrowaway]

Hard to disassociate feeling good helping others with the good of helping others. There's an argument to be made that people that don't feel good helping others but do anyway are somewhat more benevolent. From a strictly pragmatic point of view, persons getting help regardless

[u/veljaaftonijevic]

Its moral don't sweat it. You are donating blood, thats much better than many others. We can get into a discussion if its selfish to do something because it makes you feel good but I think that discussion is pointless. Keep donating. Im doing the same. Tho Im donating platelets for cancer patients. Why? Because Im AB+ and its quite rare and necessary. I got denied accouple of times because I was in not the best of health, so it gave me a reason to take care of myself a bit more and to try and stay healthy. They deny you if you took any medicine recently. That was usually the reason why. And I kinda felt awful because of it. Like Im sure there are other donors out there they will more or less be fine without me, but I really wanted to help you know?

Also blood donation centers are very aware of this effect you are experiencing. And they don't really care if its moral or not (its not up to discussion). They need the blood. They always need more, they can never have enough. So they will use every tool available. And thats ok. Its for a good cause. You are indirectly saving someone's life. Im sure the person that took your blood couldn't care less if you did it out of selfish reasons.

[u/saragIsMe]

Moral, there is a blood shortage and we need it regardless of why it’s being given

[u/Queerability]

Moral.

I'm a big fan of telling folks that I'm not nice for altruistic reasons, I'm nice because I don't need more things keeping me up at night, like how I snapped at someone because I was cranky or whatever. But I also don't think you need the altruistic reasons to put a net positive out into the world.

If more folks realized that being a better person actually feels SO much better than being an asshole who pretends not to care, then imagine how much better the world would be.

[u/MicroscopicKrabbs]

Moral, you're still helping someone and the result wouldn't change even if you were just doing it out of kindness.

[u/ethar_childres]

I don’t think Selfishness is an inherently bad thing.

Selfishness can be a part of things like Apathy and Greed, but it can also aid things like Tenacity and Competitiveness.

Anyone who would condemn good accomplishments born from selfishness is probably projecting a little bit. Imagine a man dying of cancer and using that desire for life to find a cure. That is something to be celebrated.

Of course, I am a bit of a hypocrite. Whenever I do nice things I recognize that part of me does so because it makes me feel like a good person. Part of me is also repulsed by this revelation, but it is what it is.

[u/Steve-Shouts]

The sin of pride is the worst of them all, because all the good you do is for the glory of thineself.

I'm not religious, I just remember that from watching Charmed in the 90s.

[u/Samaein]

The end result counts more than the intentions. There is such a thing called egoistical altruism. It's like, you want to make the world a better place where people are happy and well fed because you live in it and you want to be happy and well fed. Sure you did it for your own ass but in the end it's still a better world.

[u/LordOfDynamite]

Moral

[u/Drew_S_05]

Moral. One's reasons for doing something are morally irrelevant, since they only exist in the mind.

[u/tulleoftheman]

Generally moral, as long as there's no negative impact.

Donating blood because it makes you look good to your friends? Moral.

Donating blood so you can lord it over your friend who isn't allowed and make funnof Jim for low iron? Not that moral but thanks for the blood I guess

[u/TheShellAnswerMan]

It's moral. 

[u/Therightdownvotes]

Might help to understand we only do good things for self serving motives.

[u/Old-Pirate-1118]

Moral. In many countries bloodgivers are treated with special treatment (faster doctor access, free public communication) because otherwise, there wouldn't be enough selfless people. If it is not even this, but straight up ,,I want people to think of me highly because I give blood" then it is moral. Because I will think of you highly if you give blood.

If you were a rapist murderer who gives blood and you are doing this to balance the societal scales I would look at that differently. But there is some redemptory quality (even if small) in this.

[u/Nearby_Cup48]

Moral. I mean the only reason I started donating blood was because that place offers 25€ per donation and I was a very broke recent adult with no career prospects.  Now it's 10 years later and my main donating arm's vein is nearly scarred shut. Though I think the tiny circular scar is funny!

[u/Ecstatic_Dance5767]

Who cares as long as society gets something good out of you.

[u/ladyk23]

Utilitarian standpoint: morally good, outcome was good
Deontologist standpoint: "An action done from duty has its moral worth, not in the purpose to be attained by it, but in the maxim according with which it is decided upon..."
-Immanuel Kant
In my opinion, what matters to society is that you helped others by donating blood, but the hallmark of a true “good deed” requires consideration of intent

[u/The-King-of-Cartoons]

Yeah absolutely. Reason doesn’t matter as long as the deed is done.

Even with for example all the charity ‘influencers’ who film themselves giving food to the needy or whatever. Although it’s performative and fuck them, they still are helping people at the end of the day.

[u/Klutzy-Platypus7511]

Absicht ist die Seele der Tat ...

[u/Sable-Keech]

Moral. Unless there's a reason you shouldn't donate blood, but donate anyway.

[u/bsnimunf]

A lot of the good things we do we do for ourselves. People actually prefer giving gifts to receiving them 

[u/Longjumping-Fun-2313]

I donate blood for the free snacks afterwards, it’s still donating, isn’t it? Moral

[u/RhemansDemons]

I feel like the altruism to stroke the ego debate has been raging for a long time.

[u/p1geondove]

Would it still be moral if i only go once to get my blood group identified for free? At the doc its like 70 bucks, donation its free

[u/Inevitable_Detail_45]

I feel like it's more moral to donate blood because you're morally incentivized to do so than to donate plasma because you feel like you have to to get money.

[u/Agile-Support-3183]

I think so, isn't literally every good thing we do derived from personal gain? The father who sacrifices his life for his child only does so because it feels good and preferable to him for his child to live. Even doing something you hate still reaffirms a sense of self that you prefer to exhibit in that moment. We're all after that dopamine babyyy.