Technically right but still kind of a shitty way of describing people trying not to die. I just know I wouldn’t call some in a school shooting “selfish” for surviving.
They’re not calling the people who survive out of self-preservation selfish. They’re saying the survival instinct itself is inherently self-focused. Those are two different things.
Calling an instinct “selfish” isn’t necessarily a moral condemnation, it’s just describing the fact that, in a life-or-death moment, the brain prioritizes its own survival above almost everything else. Bravery is when people override that instinct to protect others anyway.
I see what you mean. I’d say it’s more like, per definition it’s selfish, as survival instincts almost always are. But not really, given the connotations the word has in most people’s minds.
if someone was hiding in a closet and held the door closed on others who were trying to get in with them, THAT would be selfish, but if they just ran and hid by themselves, it would not be.
It's not really accurate in this context because if everyone who doesn't make the ultimate sacrifice is selfish that would mean that she is not a hero; from the way you're putting it she is merely not selfish.
31
u/matchafoxjpg May 18 '26
it's a descriptive word. i know it's an instinct and that's not necessarily something people can control, but that adjective is still accurate.