Altruism's Contradiction

I have addressed the seemingly infinite problems with altruism in previous posts; however, last night speaking to my cousin I brought up the stomach churning flaw that I do not believe I have yet addressed. The fact is, altruism contradicts itself.

Everyone can accept that everyone wants to be a good or virtuous person. Even the heathen wants to be virtuous, he just mistakes virtue as being reliance on mere sexual and physical pleasure. The problem is only some correctly understand virtue, while a mob of people split into factions of warped philosophies have differing but all incorrect understandings of virtue. One of these factions is a significantly large group believing that altruism is the highest virtue. These people are altruistic because they believe it makes them good or virtuous people.

This begins to reveal the sinister contradiction. The desire and pursuit to be a good or virtuous person is selfish. It is probably the most selfish desire a person can have and most selfish act a person can commit. The individual acts virtuously because he wants to make himself virtuous. There is no way to make it clearer that they pursuit of virtue is selfish.

However, altruism is inherently selfless. It is the belief that sacrificing one's self for another's benefit is virtuous. This is the contradiction. Altruists act altruistically because they want to be virtuous. They act altruistically because they are selfish. They are concerned with making themselves good people. However, altruism demands that individuals not be selfish. Selfishness is the vice opposite of altruism. Therefore, altruists selfishly try to make themselves virtue by being selfless. Consequently, according to their own belief, they are acting viciously. Of course, there is no other way for altruism to work. One pursues altruism because he identifies it as a virtue and wants to be virtuous, yet altruism identifies selflessness and virtuous; thus, acting altruistically to be virtuous is vicious according to altruism.

Obviously, altruism is truly vicious because it conflicts with man's nature; however, this just makes it more vicious because it is a moral system that forces its followers to contradict the moral system. Basically, it is a moral system that forces its followers to act viciously according to the moral system. It is comparable to a moral system that identifies writing 2+2=5 is virtuous yet also identifies that writing =5 is vicious. The followers of this moral system would then have to be vicious in order to be virtuous. Acting vicious to achieve virtue is always absolutely vicious, it is never virtuous; pursuing the greater good is always vicious it is never virtuous.

Therefore, I suggest people embrace their nature. Man's nature is egoistical. Thus, man should stop pretending he is not selfish by pursuing altruism, which actually confirms he is selfish, causes he to be vicious by contradicting his nature, and causing him to be vicious according to altruism.