History Main / SecretlySelfish

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' This trope pops up a couple of times with Iida Tenya. Though he tries to be an upright and moral person, particularly after he's made into Class Rep, there have been several incidents where Iida puts himself and his own goals above others:

* The Plutonian from ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'' is this combined with LoveHungry. He ultimately became a superhero to fulfill his deep-seated desire for love and acceptance (resulting from a DarkAndTroubledPast) coupled with an intense martyr complex imposed on him by his foster parents.

* In ''Manga/YuriIsMyJob'', Sumika Chibana, one of the original employees of the Liebe Girls' Academy salon where the story takes place, wants to keep the salon together and believes romantic love is inherently selfish, having witnessed her friend and fellow founding member Nene suffer heartbreak when the woman she loved abandoned her. When she meets Kanoko Mamiya, a newcomer to the salon who has an unrequited love for her best friend Hime Shiraki and [[GreenEyedMonster loathes Hime's old friend Mitsuki Yano]], Sumika tries to get Kanoko to give up on her feelings for Hime, and actually succeeds in bonding with her. However, later on in the series, it is suggested that Sumika is developing feelings for Kanoko, when she's subjected to several {{Armor Piercing Question}}s. Nene asks whether Sumika would prefer it if Kanoko was in love with Sumika as well as Hime, and if Hime could support Kanoko and Hime if they were genuinely happy together, neither of which Sumika can answer. When Kanoko asks Sumika if she invited Kanoko over to separate her from Hime, Sumika weakly tries to justify herself, but realizes that she wanted to convince Kanoko that she's better off with Sumika.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Schools of thought that see humans (and life forms in general) as fundamentally selfish will maintain that altruistic or "pro-social" behavior is strictly for the benefit of the performer, not the receiver. In fact, the very definition of cynicism is the belief that everyone is motivated purely by self-interest.
* This trope (and the related Nature vs. Nurture) has been of interest to various scientific and philosophical fields. What research has been done suggests that humans are intrinsically mixed - we have drives for both genuine selflessness and selfishness.
* George Price was a geneticist best known for his theories regarding evolutionary altruism and game theory. His theorems offered a genetic basis for altruism which apparently lead Price to desperately trying to prove or disprove that kindness was indeed genetic, he commited suicide in the end.
* Related to the above, altruism vs selfishness in general can be considered the same issue as free will vs destiny - a truly selfless person may well be an automaton who does good simply out of instinct/programming thus undermining the whole thing, and introducing ego immediately causes selfish motives to start surfacing. Free will vs destiny has the problem of the deterministic forces either negating free will or having chaos eliminate it as well since everything becomes random and pointless. The solution may lie in reconciliation via various weak-deterministic free will theories and EnlightenedSelfInterest respectively.
[[/folder]]

* ''Manga/WelcomeToDemonSchoolIrumaKun'' has Ameri Azezal, who normally puts others well-being before others and is a ResonableAuthorativeFigure, but is also deeply interested in the Shoujo Manga she has from the Human World and cannot read them. Once she meets Iruma and learns he can read them, she (literally) drags him off and forces him to read the manga to her. It is downplayed later given Iruma being such a ''massive'' dormat and his inability to say no and Ameri herself stops doing this after seeing how submissive he really is.

[[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism Cynical works]] will agree that yes, there is no such thing as a completely altruistic person and all people are selfish in one way or another -- in fact, cynicism at its core is the belief that all humans are motivated purely by self-interest. An idealistic work will admonish such a way of thinking as bad people trying to drag good ones down to their level. Characters who definitely have, and know about, their unscrupulous ulterior motives are ''not'' Secretly Selfish - they're AWolfInSheepsClothing. On the other hand, a more pragmatically good hero is more comfortable with the idea of EnlightenedSelfInterest, and less inclined to have a [[HeroicBSOD moral meltdown]]. The SelflessWish and Secretly Selfish tropes usually serve to deconstruct each other: the existence of one in a fictional universe usually "weakens" the concept of the other. The StrawHypocrite is the cousin trope, where the hypocrite is selfishly not practicing on what they are preaching.

* The final arc of ''Manga/MobPsycho100'' centers on this question, as it's revealed that [[spoiler:???% isn't a separate entity living inside Shigeo, but rather [[UsefulNotes/IdSuperegoAndEgo his id]], which is also the ultimate source of his power]]. Sick of being used yet ignored for the sake of people he believes only accept the more palatable "Mob" and what he can do for them, [[spoiler:???%]] goes on a rampage, lashes out at every friend Shigeo has ever harbored uncharitable thoughts towards or gets in his way, and threatens to [[PygmalionSnapback do away with all of Shigeo's efforts to better himself]] in order to prove that no one would accept him for what he truly is and that he can only rely on himself in the end. [[spoiler:It's only when Reigen weathers his rampage to confess his own unsavory "hidden side" and apologize for using Shigeo while never truly understanding everything he was going through that ???% backs down and willingly integrates with "Mob" instead of destroying him.]]

* ''Literature/CiaphasCain'', '''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!!!''', admits in his memoirs that everything he did during his Imperial Guard service was with the ulterior motive of keeping himself alive. Cain has a massive case of HeroicSelfDeprecation, considering himself a DirtyCoward and nothing else. Cain doesn't seem personally conflicted about this, but the setting is one in which human culture has a martyrdom complex, and where the concept of EnlightenedSelfInterest provably fails when applied on any significant scale, so it has to be a secret. In the teaching part of his career, he tries to teach his students to behave rationally on the grounds that while surviving can't be too high a priority, until they get some experience they won't recognize when a situation actually merits sacrificing themselves.
** Cain is being run through a ghostwriter in-universe who calls him an UnreliableNarrator since she notes that there were plenty of times that Cain could have chosen to save himself, but [[TheSoCalledCoward acted anyway]]. WordOfGod says [[ShrugOfGod even they're not sure which version is correct]].

* ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' reveals that the Joker himself suffers from this trope, albeit in a twisted way. At first, it seems like he truly believes that everyone on Earth is just [[ArcWords "one bad day"]] away from going completely insane. He tries to prove it by shooting and paralyzing Barbara Gordon, taking pictures of her nude body (and possibly doing worse), then kidnapping her father James and forcing him through a funhouse ride with the photographs disturbingly enlarged. He claims it's all proof of his theory that PeopleAintNoDamnGood--but Batman then tells him that, while Gordon ''is'' understandably shaken up and deeply sickened, he has not lost his mind or sense of morality, to the point of insisting that the Dark Knight take the Joker in "by the book" instead of getting revenge. Batman then challenges the Joker by saying that his entire philosophy and subsequent mad crusade is nothing but a cheap attempt to justify his own failure to keep it together:

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' gives Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, a group of [[TagalongKid young ponies]] who have not received their Cutie Marks (a special marking that manifests when a pony finds their true purpose in life and dedicates themselves to it). They decide to form a club--the Cutie Mark Crusaders--in the name of learning their destinies and finally getting their Marks. Many of the episodes that feature the CMC have them ostensibly solving problems for people, but it's clear that their only goal is finding a way to win their Marks rather than actually be useful to anyone. [[spoiler: It's only when they [[YouWereTryingTooHard stop trying so hard]] and genuinely begin helping other "blank flanks" find and understand thier own destinies--to the point of saying that they long care about getting their own Marks so long as they can continue to help other ponies find theirs--that they [[SweetAndSourGrapes finally achieve their goal.]]]]

* ''Literature/TheBible'' provides a crystal clear order to not do this trope, and instead do good deeds while keeping concern for those of whom are benifitting from these good deeds, not solely to make yourself look great.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' gives Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, a group of [[TagalongKid young ponies]] who have not received their Cutie Marks (a special marking that manifests when a pony finds their true purpose in life and dedicates themselves to it). They decide to form a club--the Cutie Mark Crusaders--in the name of learning their destinies and finally getting their Marks. Many of the episodes that feature the CMC have them ostensibly solving problems for people, but it's clear that their only goal is finding a way to win their Marks rather than actually be useful to anyone. [[spoiler: It's only when they [[YouWereTryingTooHard stop trying so hard]] and genuinely begin helping other "blank flanks" find and understand thier own destinies--to the point of saying that they long care about getting their own Marks if they can continue to help other ponies find theirs--that they [[SweetAndSourGrapes get their own Cutie Marks as well.]]]]

* This is the TwistEnding of ''Theatre/TheIcemanCometh.'' The patrons of Harry's saloon love to talk about plans for the future, or "pipe dreams." When main character Hickey shows up, he seems oddly intent on forcing them to attempt to achieve those dreams, even though they're all [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption doomed to failure.]] When everyone comes back shattered and depressed, Hickey claims that he did them all a favor, as they can now finally move on with their lives. It's then revealed, via a MotiveRant, that Hickey's actual motivation is his wife, who refuses to divorce or stop loving him despite his repeated infidelities, as she has never stopped believing in her own "pipe dream" that he is a decent person who will someday reciprocate--[[spoiler: which drove Hickey to such fury that he ''murdered her.'' His desperate attempts to force other people to also give up their pipe dreams is simply an attempt to shift his own guilt: if everyone's dreams are meaningless, then he was right to kill her.]]
* The ''Theatre/MrsHawking'' series has this as a central theme. Mary Stone joins Victoria Hawking's crusade for women as part of a desire to [[DesperatelySeekingAPurposeInLife make something of her life]], while Victoria's nephew Nathaniel joins in because [[IJustWantToBeSpecial he wants to be special.]] Interestingly, though, both Mary and Nathaniel [[CharacterDevelopment gradually grow out of this trope]] and start helping women because it's genuinely the right thing to do, while ''Victoria herself'' slides toward [[ItsAllAboutMe increased selfishness]]. We later learn that even her initial crusade was the result of this trope: the first "problem" she ever faced was helping a starving village in Singapore receive food. Others pointed out that there were [[BoringButPractical simple but effective ways to do it]], but Victoria insisted on pulling off a grand scheme just because she could, hinting that it wasn't enough to actually do good--it had to be on her terms.

* ''Literature/TheBible'' provides a crystal clear order to do good deeds while keeping concern for those of whom are benifitting from these good deeds, not solely to make yourself look great.

* The ''Literature/TheBible'' provides a crystal clear order to do good deeds while keeping concern for those of whom are benifitting from these good deeds, not solely to make yourself look great.

*** A major theme of the game is the protagonists' personas will only manifest if they truly ''want'' something and not for the the sake of pure altruism. But the game also points out that selfishness and personal desires are not a ''bad'' thing, so long as it is balanced out with equal selflessness. As noted above, Haru and Yusuke are still heroes who genuinely want to help people, but they only gained the power to do so after they acknowledge their own wants. Even Joker, who is ultimately a selfless person, wants the power to take down evil to get back at the people who framed him for assault for trying to help a stranger.

[[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism Cynical works]] will agree that yes, there is no such thing as a completely altruistic person and all people are selfish in one way or another -- in fact, the belief that all humans are motivated purely by self-interest is what cynicism is. An idealistic work will admonish such a way of thinking as bad people trying to drag good ones down to their level. Characters who definitely have, and know about, their unscrupulous ulterior motives are ''not'' Secretly Selfish - they're AWolfInSheepsClothing. On the other hand, a more pragmatically good hero is more comfortable with the idea of EnlightenedSelfInterest, and less inclined to have a [[HeroicBSOD moral meltdown]]. The SelflessWish and Secretly Selfish tropes usually serve to deconstruct each other: the existence of one in a fictional universe usually "weakens" the concept of the other. The StrawHypocrite is the cousin trope, where the hypocrite is selfishly not practicing on what they are preaching.

[[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism Cynical works]] will agree that yes, there is no such thing as a completely altruistic person and all people are selfish in one way or another -- in fact, cynicism is the belief that all humans are motivated purely by self-interest. An idealistic work will admonish such a way of thinking as bad people trying to drag good ones down to their level. Characters who definitely have, and know about, their unscrupulous ulterior motives are ''not'' Secretly Selfish - they're AWolfInSheepsClothing. On the other hand, a more pragmatically good hero is more comfortable with the idea of EnlightenedSelfInterest, and less inclined to have a [[HeroicBSOD moral meltdown]]. The SelflessWish and Secretly Selfish tropes usually serve to deconstruct each other: the existence of one in a fictional universe usually "weakens" the concept of the other. The StrawHypocrite is the cousin trope, where the hypocrite is selfishly not practicing on what they are preaching.

[[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism Cynical works]] will agree that yes, there is no such thing as a completely altruistic person and all people are selfish in one way or another -- in fact, cynicism is defined as the belief that all humans are motivated purely by self-interest. An idealistic work will admonish such a way of thinking as bad people trying to drag good ones down to their level. Characters who definitely have, and know about, their unscrupulous ulterior motives are ''not'' Secretly Selfish - they're AWolfInSheepsClothing. On the other hand, a more pragmatically good hero is more comfortable with the idea of EnlightenedSelfInterest, and less inclined to have a [[HeroicBSOD moral meltdown]]. The SelflessWish and Secretly Selfish tropes usually serve to deconstruct each other: the existence of one in a fictional universe usually "weakens" the concept of the other. The StrawHypocrite is the cousin trope, where the hypocrite is selfishly not practicing on what they are preaching.

%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

[[quoteright:350:[[LightNovel/TearmoonEmpire https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/imgonline_com_ua_twotoone_zo9ghb2xsro9q.jpg]]]]

%% Image chosen via crowner in the Image Suggestions thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/ImagePickin/ImageSuggestions155

%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.