Can a person be selfish and altruistic? I would argue that you can. My definition allows for a little bit of flexibility. A person can be altruistic if they hardy gain
anything from helping another person. A
person might help someone because they want to help or they desire to be
altruistic. These may be selfish wants,
but what really does a person gain compared to the person in need of help? So long as the person has the desire to help
people and isn’t solely motivated by selfish desires, then the action can be
altruistic and a little bit selfish. Of course, a person can only be so selfish
and still considered to be altruistic.
You are confusing the definition of selfish and self-interest. If a person is acting selfishly, they will not do anything for another person, they will only act with/upon another person for their own benefit. I do not think that an act can be both. It can be both self interested and altruistic.
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