2+ hour, 5+ min ago (712+ words) Human nature isn't a war between pure selfishness and pure selflessness'most of us carry both, and the refusal to admit that complexity is the real mistake. One of the most generous people I know, a doctor, denies that there is such a thing as altruism. The absence of altruism in the world does not bother him. On the contrary, he says, being selfish is a good thing. He thinks that people renowned for altruism'Mother Teresa, say'are not personally admirable; they are just warped, hypocritical, or both. What should we think of these opinions? I think that they are wrong. But they are also very widespread'they have always been widespread'and it is interesting to ask why. One reason, of course, is that human selfishness is both deep and ineradicable. The question'one question'is whether there are countervailing, non-selfish impulses. Most people think…...