-Removed-"There will always be a combination of a sense of internal need to help and of personal gratification in having done so.It's still a good thing, but to say there is no personal interest is simply false in my opinion."
What of altruistic acts that are detrimental to the self and bring no personal gratification or self interest? I can think of many examples.
-Removed-I'm not sure how we can arrive at a definition for something that you have already stated doesn't exist.
For me, an altruistic act is an act that puts other people first. The most beautiful kind of altruism is where there is no personal benefit, but even an act that does contain some level of self interest is still an act of altruism.
-Removed-I think you are trolling. You have bastardised the word 'altruism' as well as the term 'self interest'. That you know this is obvious by the fact that you refuse to define either term or answer clarifying questions.
I do maintain that by the standard meaning of 'self interest', I have no self interest in caring for my children. I do not consider carrying out innate desires to be 'self interest'. For me 'self interest' is something that I believe will bring me personal benefit.
Although 'mental satisfaction' may be termed 'self interest' I am neither convinced that it is a satisfactory use of the term except in extreme cases and I am also convinced that that is not always the case anyway.