To be or not to be selfless?

While watching DMG seeing Dr. Keerthi always emphasize on duty and putting the patient before anything else and her zero tolerance for slack made me wonder on a quality considered almost synonymous with doctors - selflessness or altruism.

We associate doctors with and expect from them selfless service at the cost of their personal comfort. It seems a given , no choice and in return of course they are elevated to the status of a demigod since they hold our lives in their hands literally.

Then I came across this "We are all here on earth to help others. What I can't figure out is what the others are here for." W. H. Auden.

Made me wonder is selflessness really possible among humans because always preservation of self is the prerogative in life. That has how nature has made us, remember survival instinct, survival of the fittest.

Altruism

seems to be defined broadly as the selfless concern for the welfare of others, a motivation to help others or a want to do good without reward or recognition.and a great deal of importance is given to this ethic traditionally for the "greater good of humanity."

I believe there is another school of thought which feels that altruism is demeaning to the individual and that no moral obligation to help others actually exists and then there is also a view that if a person willingly performs an act that means he derives personal enjoyment from it; therefore, people only perform acts that give them personal enjoyment so the individual is benefitted anyway in some manner so where is the question of not having reward or recognition.

I looked around a bit and found that altruism exists and is favored by nature where animals often sacrifice their lives for the greater good of the species as a whole and is found in organisms which are not capable of conscious thought and now it seems that genetics also has a say in how altruisitic you are. Moreover experiments show altruism is not a superior moral faculty that suppresses basic selfish urges but rather is basic to the brain, hard-wired and pleasurable and nature seems to encourage cooperation and sharing to help life flourish.

Maybe it is in self interest to be altruistic after all if it ultimately leads to well being of life as a whole.

But then doctors now are generally perceived to be less altruistic. Could it be that gradually gratitude for effective medical intervention has been replaced by escalating expectation and demands from doctors and also society in general is moving away from perceived traditional values towards self absorption and the individual as opposed to society and community.

Just a few random thoughts I penned down, would love to hear what you all think.

Gina!!!! *bows down* Thank you sooooooooooooooo much for obliging and putting up this post on my request... I really cant thank you enough for this... very kind of you!!!

Absolutely informative and with a new take on things... and absolutely stimulating fodder for the brain....

Am really really so happy that you put this up... thank you... am so glad I made that phone call to you at the risk of sounding like a stubborn child asking for toffee... I got the post out from your kitty!!! Muahahahahhaha!!!

Will chip in my thoughts in a bit!!!! Altruism and Doctors..... Woohooooooooooo random thoughts of wandering minds and stubborn requests that are obliged by patient and understanding intellectuals as you do end up in such fantastic posts dont they!?!!!

Thanks a zillion!!! Will come back in a bit! 😉

gina...brilliant!!!! u really researched this, didn't you?? so much info, so much education! thanks a lot. am gonna chip in too. with lots, i promise!! but is tomorrow ok? sareeta's really working us very hard!! i just finished my post, so need some sleep to get my fingers working again!! brain's still alive tho!! i need a computer that will take voice dictations!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by: sareeta

Gina!!!! *bows down* Thank you sooooooooooooooo much for obliging and putting up this post on my request... I really cant thank you enough for this... very kind of you!!!

Absolutely informative and with a new take on things... and absolutely stimulating fodder for the brain....

Am really really so happy that you put this up... thank you... am so glad I made that phone call to you at the risk of sounding like a stubborn child asking for toffee... I got the post out from your kitty!!! Muahahahahhaha!!!

Will chip in my thoughts in a bit!!!! Altruism and Doctors..... Woohooooooooooo random thoughts of wandering minds and stubborn requests that are obliged by patient and understanding intellectuals as you do end up in such fantastic posts dont they!?!!!

Thanks a zillion!!! Will come back in a bit! 😉

I shud thank you for the idea and the setting me off on a trail where I learned quite a lot. So my pleasure.

Originally posted by: vaarti

gina...brilliant!!!! u really researched this, didn't you?? so much info, so much education! thanks a lot. am gonna chip in too. with lots, i promise!! but is tomorrow ok? sareeta's really working us very hard!! i just finished my post, so need some sleep to get my fingers working again!! brain's still alive tho!! i need a computer that will take voice dictations!!!!!!!!

Thank you! I did research it, cudnt come up with all that on my own. It was very informative and I myself learnt a lot. Yeah Sareeta does really get you to do things you never thought you cud.

Tomorrow is just fine.

i need a computer that will take voice dictations!!!!!!!! You dont want one of those yet. They will sometimes royally mess up what you dictate sometimes to hilarious effect and sometimes well you feel like throwing em out of the window.😆

Gina…I am reminded of this episode from friends where Phoebe and Joey argue over the true nature of a selfless deed. Joey's take on altruism is reminiscent of the egoistic-hedonistic school of thought, insisting that there is no such thing as a truly selfless deed. The fact that we have done something unselfish for another, fills us with joy and satisfaction and that joy takes away from true altruism. And Phoebe opposes the idea saying there are genuine altruistic deeds that are commendable.

But that is just an aside. In our evolution from being four footed animals to the 'intelligent' thinking people that we are today, I believe we have lost complete sense of what altruism means. The process of evolution was not an easy one and demanded ruthless survival instincts that we embraced heartily to follow the path of progress. What nature has gifted us in bounty, compassion for another, empathy and an innate sense of needing to put society ahead of us has been sadly quelled by this incessant need to better the neighbour. It does not surprise me that animals display altruistic tendencies, because they are above the manipulations that the human mind has learnt along with the use of his thumb and spine!

Altruism is an essential part of the Hippocratic Oath. Doctors are meant to put above all else, the welfare of their patients. But seeing as medical education itself has become so expensive and the profession so lucrative, more often than not our care givers are more concerned about remuneration than anything else. How often have we walked into a hospital with a simple ailment, only to be tested for everything under the sun? Equipment is expensive, technology is dear and in an attempt to improve health care facility, we have lost sight of what a doctor is essentially meant to do. Life savers, life givers even…very few of the medical fraternity actually posses even faint signs of serving their patients sincerely and selflessly.

In that light, I appreciate Dr. Keerti's attitude and Dr. Armaan's forceful statement that the ill will be temperamental. It is up to the doctors to deal with their tantrums and not crib. But how realistic is it to expect true altruism from anybody in this current age of competition and survival I am not sure. Is it always correct to crucify an expensive doctor, irrespective of how sincere or good he is at his work, merely because he has chosen to also insure his life? or is it fair to chastise one who chooses to set a time for those who need his attention, in order to pay attention to his life and others who are a part of it? Am confused!!