Origin from the opposite
The title can be read in two ways: on the one hand, you can remember the phrase “proof by contradiction,” and on the other hand, the fact that “nasty” and “vile” are synonyms and mean something unpleasant. We had in mind the first meaning, but the second is also appropriate here. To understand the origin of unselfishness, it is necessary to illuminate the phenomenon of self-interest. Let's see what the etymological dictionary thinks.
There was a word koriti - “to reproach”, originally meaning “prey”. Another etymological dictionary clarifies that self-interest can have two interpretations. Some believe that the word actually goes back to the words “production”, “part”, “share”. Others offer it as a source of “korystati,” derived from “ristati” - “to ride, to ride.” If we take this point of view into account, then self-interest is what is gained in battle. Whichever side we choose, in any case everything will come down to the concept of self-interest.
Meaning of the word selfless
Examples of the use of the word selfless in literature.
PORTRAIT OF AN ALTRUIST Altruism is the ability to put oneself in the place of another and selflessly give him the amount of energy, time, attention, money that a person would spend on himself if he were in the same position as the one with whom he is now sharing.
A man of impeccable reputation, selfless, modest, honest, selfless, and in some ways ascetic, Brüning hoped to restore a stable parliamentary state and lead the country out of the deepening economic crisis and political chaos.
Konstantin Bakharev, like Privalov, Okoemov and ultimately Mamin-Sibiryak himself, being wonderful, noble people, naively believed that they would be able, sooner or later, to awaken the conscience of the bourgeoisie, to turn it from the path of unbridled profit to the path of selfless service people, Russia.
Shortly before my arrest, I happened to read a large magazine article about mysterious and mysteriously numerous motiveless, that is, completely disinterested crimes.
By acting in this way, General Weygand, although he was a sincere and selfless man, behaved incorrectly.
It was difficult to pretend to be a selfless benefactor without a twinge of conscience in the presence of a truth-loving and straightforward gand.
Ephraim the Syrian Thanksgiving About morning prayer About the Eucharist About selfless prayer Petition About inner silence About the sending of the Holy Spirit Prayer to the Mother of God Prayers to the saints: About imitation of Christ About life for others About fulfilling your duty About spiritual enlightenment About neighbors About caring Repentance About deliverance from sins In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Ulya stood up with her arms hanging along her body, and suddenly all their faces unconsciously reflected that beautiful, happy, selfless feeling that girlish beauty cannot but evoke in pure souls.
But I already said that the duties of a driver were beyond my capabilities, but the gingerbread with vinegar and pepper is offered to you selflessly!
Of course, the old witch, who couldn’t get out of Arkady Mikhailovich’s head these days, was guarding the disinterested gardeners under every bush, and some of them pecked at her bait, as happened with Vasily.
Now he was busy every minute, for he took a lively and fussy part in the process of provisioning, disinterestedly rejoicing and saddening at the successes and failures of Golovlev’s hoarding.
But right next to this, the poet admires the people’s responsiveness to someone else’s misfortune in the episode with the drunken Vavilushka, the people’s sensitivity to the disinterested kindness of Pavlusha Veretennikov, who helped out a dissolute man with money: But the other peasants were so comforted, so glad, as if He had given each one a ruble!
In a word, this nobleman has understood the spirit of the Restoration and benefits from the chamber, but his royalism is less disinterested than the royalism of the family with which he competes.
The thoughts and experiences of Russian enlightened people who found themselves at the broken trough of their philanthropic, selfless ideals, as they lived until the October Revolution of the seventeenth milestone year, must have been very difficult, tragically sad.
Sapieha's patience began to weaken; the role of a disinterested patron was decidedly not in her spirit.
Source: Maxim Moshkov library
The meaning of the prefix
The prefix “without” (“bes”) has two meanings:
- In nouns denoting the absence or lack of something.
- In adjectives (and therefore in adverbs) - devoid of something.
The second case is just ours. After all, disinterestedly means “without any personal interest.” So, even without turning to an explanatory dictionary, we learned the meaning of the object of study. But our conscience will not let us sleep peacefully if we still do not turn to an authoritative source.
What is selflessness? Word definition
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Let’s not beat around the bush, but let’s immediately move on to discussing the topic of the publication. What is selflessness? To put it in the simplest and most understandable language, selflessness is a person’s desire to do good deeds for the well-being of other people, and not in order to receive a reward for it.
Meaning
Therefore, whether we like it or not, we need to look into the dictionary, it is required by our official duty. Let's look at the meaning of the word “unselfishly”. Only this will not be an adverb, but an adjective, which is similar in meaning: “Alien to selfish interests.” Our definition, given just above, is even more elegant, because it is free from tautology.
You can’t talk about selflessness without saying that self-interest is probably a purely human problem or trait. Why is this a problem? Because in relationships with other people we always have to prove that we are doing this or that unselfishly (and this is sometimes true), but they still don’t believe us. In general, one should talk about the selfishness of an action only when a person receives a certain material benefit, which is measured either in luxury goods or in money. Otherwise, we urge you to recognize the behavior as noble.
Why is it important? Because there is a police point of view that a person is always and everywhere self-interested. The only difference is that in one case he receives material benefits, and in the other - psychological. But we rebel against such injustice, because at least a drop of goodness must remain in a person! Additionally, the psychological benefits tend to be subtle and not obvious.
Selflessness and love
When it comes to love, raising the question of selflessness, according to philosophers, becomes absolutely frivolous. It cannot be said that a mother who feeds her child commits a selfless act, since her own happiness depends on the well-being of her daughter/son. But you have to be blind not to understand the fact that maternal love is higher than any selflessness.
Synonyms
When a word is ancient, it makes sense to replace it with well-known words in order to speed up and improve understanding. Let's hasten to look at the list of synonyms:
- nobly;
- generously;
- for free;
- free of charge;
- altruistically.
These are almost all semantic analogues of words, but there are also expressions that are not included in our list because they are typologically disgusting to it.
Is love evil?
Love comes in different forms. It can be consumer, proprietary, mutual. But there is also selfless love. This is the purest and truest feeling. A person who loves unselfishly, being close to the object of his adoration, experiences happiness and joy. And he doesn’t need anything else. Selfless love can also be called “a feeling in the name of the beloved.” This is something amazing. No selfishness, no pride, the main thing is that the loved one is happy, the main thing is that the loved one feels good. He worries about his beloved, he is always ready to help, protect, support. He is worried about everything connected with him. And even if not everything in their relationship is smooth, a selfless person endures. Because he loves.
Selflessness has many different definitions. There is no point in listing them all, since the whole essence is summed up in one phrase. Selflessness is the greatest virtue of modern times. Not everyone is capable of serving other people without demanding something in return. These are truly loving people. Only they can show their soul, without hypocrisy, without the slightest bit of hypocrisy. To be happy, few people only need to hear the voice of a loved one and see him.
Offers
Now let's find out how adverbs and adjectives feel in ordinary speech, make sentences with them:
- Listen, I love your mother completely unselfishly, this is the honest truth! What, millions in your account? No, I don't know anything about them.
- A man on his way to work helped a single mother lift her stroller to the fifth floor, she didn’t even have time to ask his name. This help was selfless.
- When a millionaire gives money to charitable foundations, then this act should be recognized as selfless, because he could not have done such a thing.
- Only those people who have already lost everything or gained a lot can help selflessly.
- A person cannot be selfless in everything. Whether willingly or unwillingly, he still wants something for himself.
Enough, perhaps. There remains only one question that also needs to be addressed.
An example of unselfishness from life
Since we have started writing such an article, it would be wrong on our part not to devote a section dedicated to examples of unselfishness from real life. Consider an incident that occurred in 1892.
The famous Russian artist Ilya Efimovich Repin was on friendly terms with Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, the pride of world literature. In the winter of 1892, when the Russian lands were struck by hunger and cold, Repin, without warning, decided to come to Tolstoy in the Ryazan province. Arriving at the appointed place, he saw how his comrade fed the poor and hungry people in the canteens he had organized. As Ilya Efimovich himself stated, the area of Lev Nikolaevich’s canteens stretched over thirty miles, and he himself traveled around them several times a week to check.
Is it possible to leave aside personal interest?
Or let’s rephrase: “Are there selfless souls?” The answer to the question is, of course, positive. Why? Sick children and animals are helped not only by millionaires, whose name, thanks to significant assistance, may become known, but we are full of modest and anonymous heroes whose names we do not know. Not so long ago, by the way, it became fashionable to collect money for treatment on the Internet, and this practice brings significant results, that is, people give money to save another without expecting anything in return.
This means that the word “selfless” is not an alien element of our speech and life, but something that we encounter every day. So often that they stopped even noticing unmotivated acts of kindness and nobility.
Definition
To begin with, we should consider the word “selflessness” as a term. This is the ability to bring benefit and goodness to other people, without expecting gratitude from them. Acting selflessly is noble, although such behavior is not always justified. People endowed with such moral qualities are very kind and open. Kant argued that to act unselfishly means not to do something expecting to receive a reward in return, but to do good for no reason. Many scientists have, in fact, studied this behavior. However, in general, they came to a common conclusion: the lack of selflessness in moral relations between people turns them into purely utilitarian and mercantile ones.
What is selflessness according to Peskov’s text?
M. Peskova (OGE in Russian) Selflessness is the absence of the desire for personal gain. People who have this quality do good deeds just like that, at the call of their soul, without expecting any payment for them, or even gratitude.
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