Selflessness Vs Selfishness

Dictionary answers:-

Selflessness: It the act of sacrificing ones own interest for the greater good.

Selfishness: It is the act of placing one's own needs or desires above the needs or desires of others.

We generally perceive Selflessness or Altruism to be the greatest code of morality. Is it really true? Why are some of us perceived to be altruistic and some self-centered? It just depends on depth to which we analyze or view certain situations. Any altruistic behavior when analyzed to a greater depth will end up in selfishness (knowingly/unknowingly) and any self-centered behavior when analyzed to a greater depth will end up in Altruism (knowingly/unknowingly).

For example, take a small scenario; you have two friends Tom and Dick. Tom takes care of himself, doesn't involve much in your private space, doesn't offer solutions either; Dick on the other hand not only takes care of himself but also listens to others problems, offers solutions to it and shows due care and concern. Generally we perceive Tom to be self-centered and Dick to be selfless. This when viewed at a greater depth will disprove all our perceptions - Tom who is not helping others is actually making people to handle problems by themselves, making them self sufficient and making them realize not to depend on anyone else other than their own self. [Of course this is not his motive, his motive is neither not to help them. In fact he has no motives for others; he just wants himself to be self sufficient]. Dick on the other hand though solving problems of the day is not providing them a long-term solution such as making them self-sufficient, in turn he makes them dependant on him [Of course this is not his motive, he has not realized that it would make them dependant on him].

Coming back to the question, is self-sacrifice the greatest code of morality? 'Altruism' will answer "Yes", self-esteem would answer "No" (Courtesy: Ayn Rand). Altruism advocates you to take the decision of others; self-esteem advocates you to take care of your own 'self' and only yours. It's up to the individual to make a choice here. One might opt for any of the above, as their actions and reactions are not intentional in either case. But one should understand he/she is not an altruist because he/she is not, there is a blend of altruism and selfishness in his/her action; one should understand altruism/self esteem/any other code of morality should be in it's purest form to become the greatest.