Let's put an unexpected question for many: is dedication a positive quality. And what, in general, denotes this concept.
At first glance, dedication is the most that neither is the highest manifestation of human qualities, it is the willingness to sacrifice one's own interests for the benefit of others. Synonyms for the word "selflessness" can be "sacrifice" and "altruism."
On the other hand, the meaning of the word selflessness is "to deny oneself." If you imagine that life is the greatest gift, is it nice to throw it aside? If you do not appreciate yourself, is it possible to give sincere love to other people? And is not selflessness a kind of masochistic egoism, an attempt to rise above others. We will talk about this today.
Examples of dedication
The highest manifestation of self-sacrifice is the mother's love for her child. Almost any mother, without hesitation, will sacrifice her health, and, perhaps, her life if it is required. Not because she does not appreciate her life. But because her love is so strong that the happiness of a loved one fills a woman with special energy. She does not think that she is above something, because for her selflessness is absolutely natural. To some extent, it brings joy.
Someone is ready to give his life for a loved one, and this impulse is only an expression of the power of love.
Firefighters risk their lives saving other people, but for them the idea of self-sacrifice is not brought to the fore - it's a daily work in which a person acts, if possible, by disabling emotions. With disconnected emotions, the surgeon spends hours of exhausting his operation, and, perhaps, sometimes in his concentration slips the excitement.
However, despite the fact that dedication, as, for example, honesty and high morality, we are elevated to the rank of nobility, this quality has a completely logical biological explanation. In nature, we can observe an analogue of behavior in bees, which perish, stinging a potential enemy. However, the meaning of this death is to develop in the victim from the sting of fear of other individuals of their species and save the beehive as a whole. Similarly, when a young woman perishes, the female saves its genes. With the development of life, the power of love has evolved. If the crocodile cubs do not glow with love for a toothy mother, which gently protects the offspring (many mothers care for many reptiles end immediately after the female lays eggs), the human child unconditionally loves and accepts her mother. Scientists come to the conclusion that the roots of self-sacrifice and self-sacrifice go into caring for the offspring and their genes. Such offshoots as, for example, a dog's willingness to give his life for a master, are considered something of a "side effect".
The rejection of yourself?
But let's return to another kind of selflessness. It often happens that a person voluntarily puts himself on the altar of other people's interests, even if no one asks for such a sacrifice. Sometimes such sacrifice can be even a burden, but one who has decided to "live for others" persistently continues to depreciate
In this case, selflessness ceases to be at least somewhat justified, both from the standpoint of biology and from the standpoint of high moral qualities. Rather, it is a position of self-destruction, the promotion of which can result in misunderstanding and even psychological disorders. Only sincere love and respect (first of all - to ourselves) can make our world better.