that say that ALL human action is motivated by positive self desire; that is that any action you, I or even Mother Theresa (RIP) takes is driven by the desire to progress the actor's life, happiness or interests. In this context, even helping others is done to bring joy to the heart of the helper (after all, Mother Theresa herself said she had no interest in eliminating poverty, only helping the poor); I don't believe this is cynical, in fact I think it's a necessary antidote to the concept of the ego; truly, one cannot be selfless unless one desires to be so, and that desire is in itself selfish.

As for kids, I think they learn from the inside out, and start life thinking (naturally) only about thesemlves, if they feel for their mommy or their daddy or their kitty, it is in the context of how that person/animal fits in the frame of their existence (My kitty died, I miss my kitty, I'm sad.) And for the most part we remain that way at our core. One need only look at any funeral to see that the emotions generally on display are not sorrow for the deceased but sorrow for OUR own loss. I don't actually think humans are capable of true self-less-ness so long as they are conscious of their own existence; some decisions however appear to be more or less selfish -- I may return the wallet I find although I need the money, but maybe my inner motivation to avoid guilt is stronger than my need for a quick money fix, appearance isn't everything...  :)