Who is the most selfish person you can think of? Jeff Bezos and Amazon. Should Bezos give money away, and, if so, how much? Is it just a matter of personal preference as to how much money (if any) one should give away? Being a selfish person without being a bad person. Is selfishness sometimes bad and sometimes not? How should “selfish” be defined? Passive harm. Employee benefits.

Is altruism (e.g., Mother Teresa) good? What’s the opposite of Mother Teresa? Can one live for oneself but not at the expense of others? Robinson Crusoe—is he good? Choice and moral evaluation. A standard of judgment. Respect and harm. Universal values/truths or relativism/subjectivism?

Recorded shortly before the fall 2020 election.

6:01 The Objectivist view of the mind: The conscious mind as volitional, the subconscious (or brain) as automatic. Thinking as volitional and emotion as automatic. 13:40 What exactly is volitional in a thinking process? 25:35 What’s the importance of being able to choose to focus or not? 51:05 Do we have a single, volitional mind/self? Sam Harris’ deterministic, “modular mind” view (as revealed through introspection/meditation). 1:16:18 What grounds are there—if any—for deciding to focus? 1:38:44 How to decide between two hypotheses that both purport to explain how the mind works: Hypothesis 1 - There’s no “why” that explains the primary choice to focus/think; Hypothesis 2 - There is a “why,” but it’s an unconscious occurrence in the brain. 1:47:28 Should one hypothesis be the default? The parallel to external world skepticism. Burden of proof and proving a negative. 1:59:48 Is free will at least an illusion—even if not real? Or is there not even an illusion of free will? Sam Harris. 2:11:06 My graduate research on free will and the philosophy of mind (aka the metaphysics of consciousness or the “mind-body problem”). 2:23:34 Discovering a new, mental force in nature. Thanks to Shawn Silsbee for participating in this discussion!

What is the self? The self as the mind. Does the self include the body? The self as the intellect (vs. as the emotions) since it is the part of the mind directly under one’s volitional control. What does “self” mean in the context of the idea that it’s good to be “selfish”? The process of getting the idea of a “self.” Are things in one’s environment part of one’s “self”? Three senses of “self.” Personal identity: What makes someone the same person across time? Using focus to get distance from bodily pain. Emotions as always present. The will/volition and the intellect/reason. Ayn Rand’s vs. Eastern conceptions of “self.” Losing your self in your work (or other activities).

Selfishness in Iran and the United States. Are you selfish if you do something good for yourself? Is eating breakfast selfish? Sharing food on a lifeboat—with a murderer. Is selfishness sometimes good? If so, when? Helping the homeless—how much? Are good and bad subjective?

Is it good to be a selfish person? If an action is selfish because it helps you benefit others should it be called “selfish”? How would you define “selfish”? Can you be selfish on a desert island? Is our language missing a word?

Who is the most selfish/selfless person you can think of? What makes Jesus perfect? Why is it good to be selfless? If heaven is better than Earth, why not end your life now? What if selflessness didn’t benefit you—would you still be selfless? If so, why? Is being motivated by treasures in heaven selfish?

I'm raising money to help me continue and grow The Selfishness Project. You can see my progress toward my fundraising goal in the comment section below the corresponding video on YouTube or Facebook. If you value this project, please consider making a financial contribution: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheSelfishnessProject PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/SelfishnessProject Facebook Pay (via Facebook Messenger): https://www.facebook.com/dan.norton.1428 For more details about my fundraiser, please see: https://www.facebook.com/dan.norton.1428/posts/10158924987323338.

Here is a two-minute video with some highlights and testimonials from various episodes of The Selfishness Project. I post it to help convey the value of the project, since I am currently doing a fundraiser for it. For more information on the fundraiser, please see https://www.facebook.com/dan.norton.1428/posts/10158924987323338 and https://www.facebook.com/dan.norton.1428/videos/10158935571583338/. You can contribute now (or at anytime) at the links below. With your support, I can create many more moments like the ones in this video! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheSelfishnessProject PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/SelfishnessProject Facebook Pay (via Facebook Messenger): https://www.facebook.com/dan.norton.1428