{"items": [{"author": "Alex", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/146963308734505?comment_id=147049438725892", "anchor": "fb-147049438725892", "service": "fb", "text": "Thanks for highlighting these two comments, Jeff. Both are indeed very good. The talk of \"selfishness\" here and elsewhere on your blog, though, doesn't make the distinction between \"egoism\" and \"egotism\". (Psychological) egoism is defined as \"the doctrine that holds that individuals are always motivated by self-interest\" according to Wikipedia. Egotism, on the other hand, is \"an excessive or exaggerated sense of self-importance\". Egotism is frowned upon, egoism is less well understood. And yet they're both thought of as \"selfish\". There's nothing wrong or ironic about selfish altruisms that are merely egoistic. The problem comes when we engage in egotism. I wonder how many egotistical altruistic acts actually happen.", "timestamp": "1318965368"}, {"author": "Allison", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103741579182942078941", "anchor": "gp-1318984736112", "service": "gp", "text": "@Jeff Kaufman\n Thank you for creating this kind of forum for discussion.  I find that I have knee-jerk reactions to certain statements, especially relating to charity, and that it's nice to work through why I feel certain ways and decide if I want to keep those feelings or not.", "timestamp": 1318984736}, {"author": "David Chudzicki", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/106120852580068301475", "anchor": "gp-1318987552190", "service": "gp", "text": "I'm not very good at deciding which feelings to keep or not! :)", "timestamp": 1318987552}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1318988400808", "service": "gp", "text": "Thinking of feelings as something that I have a choice of whether to keep or not is new and alien to me.", "timestamp": 1318988400}, {"author": "David Chudzicki", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/106120852580068301475", "anchor": "gp-1318989543122", "service": "gp", "text": "I think I have some choice about these things. Maybe less than you.", "timestamp": 1318989543}]}