Looking for a good Fables or Parables on how morality is linked to self-interest. (like the boy who cried wolf)

December 4, 2008 4:09 AM

Looking for a good Fables or Parables on how morality is linked to self-interest. (like the boy who cried wolf)

As a child my sense moral objectivity with regards to lying was heavily influenced by the Aesop Fables (the Boy who cried wolf)

The teaching of morality justified by what is best for your individual self interest stuck with me.

I try to apply it to all my moral beliefs eg: stealing.

I do not steal for personal gain because stealing harms society, and the society in which I live is one of most valuable assets I possess. If I harm society I harm myself.

Does anyone have any good fables or moral teachings that help show an example of this?

posted by complience to religion & philosophy (3 comments total)

Love thy neighbour is a good start, for the same reasons you example.
Discussion of karma is also a good way of instilling this kind of moral teaching in a generational (therefore planetary) sense. The best 'in the now' description of karma I've heard is: Karma is what we say 'yes' to.

Nice question, complience.
posted by Kerasia at 4:15 AM on December 4, 2008

There's the Mouse and the Lion, in which the Mouse's aid to the terrifying Lion later resounds to his benefit.

Or the Ass and the Lapdog, in which the donkey tries to get the lapdog's life by refusing to do his crappy work, and ends up beaten and driven out completely. "Don't rock the boat," as it were.

Or... well, heck, if you can't find 'em at Aesop.com, then you're probably not trying very hard. Most fables end up using self-interest to teach, at least on some level, since they usually involve someone misbehaving and being punished, or someone acting virtuously and being rewarded. How realistic that punishment/reward is, well, that tends to vary quite a bit.

Except for ones like The Frog and the Scorpion, which has always been one of my favorites.
posted by Scattercat at 4:27 AM on December 4, 2008

The Ant and the Grasshopper.
posted by jmmpangaea at 9:43 AM on December 4, 2008