[Tyrien]

Originally Posted by iPhantom

What? o.O Do you look a car from behind and say that's the front? There is no multi-perspective here.

I'm surprised the three of you think true love is selfish. I don't want to assume if you ever have felt it or not, but I'm just saying, many philosophers have linked true love to altruism. It's called altruistic love as well. There are books about it. The phrase 'love doesn't seek its own interest' is pretty clear. All the emotions it brings are aftereffects of love. There is also sadness involved in true love, not just happiness.

Also, you don't only seek to be happy by yourself, but also for your partner (actually more than you). You might say you're happy she's happy, but it doesn't work that way. The fact that you put another person before your interests, means you're altruistic.

Uncontrollable emotions like the one Tyrien explained (that everything translates back to our happiness) is unconscious, and isn't a deciding factor in this matter. Check out some examples of selfishness and altruism and you will understand what is defined this and that.

@Tyrien: Do you also think, like JasonTakeshi, that donating to a charity is selfish?

Man, I was hearing plenty of people saying how selfish some people are for not donating for Haiti. I'm sure JasonTakeshi hasn't done that, since you know... it would be a waste, he would still be selfish even after donating.

What you all are seeking here is pure altruism, but there is no such thing. But still, love is altruistic, no matter how very little selfish act is involved.

Okay you're making this incredibly difficult.

First you cannot compare a tangible object to the discussion of idealogical meaning. It doesn't work so please stop trying to do so.

You keep referring to selfish behavior as one which has a primary concern relating to one's self. That's exactly what I'm referring to when talking about love being selfish. It's a subconscious behavior that we all do as a built in survival instinct. We make conscious justifications for our actions, but these actions always root back to ourselves as the primary benefactor.

However the part you cannot seem to comprehend, or rather are refusing to comprehend is that I exempted that behavior from deciding whether love is selfish in practice or not because it is an unavoidable instinctive behavior that we all do; a constant before any conscious justification is ever made.

This is now the third time I've said this, so I'll try and make it very clear. Love is not selfish in practice.