Pure selflessness is rare. It seems to show up in extreme circumstances, such as when a soldier throws his body on a grenade to prevent it from killing or wounding others.

Otherwise, it's hard to see how some form of self-interest isn't involved in everything people do. Aristotle tells us that people are driven by self-interest, though they are often mistaken about what their true self-interest is. At this moment, tailgating drivers on Interstate 49 are generating misery, people are impoverishing themselves at the Cherokee Casino in West Siloam Springs, and folks in the world of business are ruining other people's careers to protect their own advancement. Underlying these actions is a perverse interpretation of self-interest.

Self-interest is often confused with selfishness. But it isn't

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