Even the most apparently self-denying person, who follows the strictest moral code, is acting in their own interests. Whether the underlying drive is fear, love of god, a desire to make a viable society or indeed anything else, the person cannot help but do what they ultimately want to do. As in many other aspects of life, the apparent paradox of selfishness can be resolved by abandoning the search for the absolute. There is a clear distinction between an immediate focus on our own needs, usually called ‘selfishness’, and a broader approach, usually called ‘altruism’. There is no need for the uneasy conflict between selfishness and altruism. The universe is so constructed that long term ‘selfishness’ promotes the well-being of everyone else. The search for the ultimate self-sacrifice is futile. BACK