The Japanese have this term “intoku (陰徳)” which roughly translates to good deeds done in secret. What are some examples of intoku in your own life? Doesn’t matter even if it’s something minor like picking up trash.
The Japanese have this term “intoku (陰徳)” which roughly translates to good deeds done in secret. What are some examples of intoku in your own life? Doesn’t matter even if it’s something minor like picking up trash.
I doubt that a truly selfless act of charity exists. Even if you’re just giving money away anonymously you’re still probably feeling good about it and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. That’s not really what my question was about.
Agreed.
Feeling good about oneself shouldn’t be guilted.
Oh, ok. I’ve been binging The Good Place, which is making me think about these things.
I do wonder what connotations intoku has for the Japanese. There must be boundaries, where some things qualify and some things don’t. I get a tax break for charitable giving; it’s still a net loss, b/c the tax break doesn’t recover very much of the donation, but… is that intoku? Does the fact that my neighbor sometimes snowblows my sidewalk if he gets to it first make it transactional - is it still intoku? And the very definition you quoted: “when no-one is watching” - does the fact that I know that he knows it’s me doing it make it not intoku?
I’m really curious about the word and what boundaries the Japanese would put around is/not intoku. Or is it like trying to define “art” - it’s impossible, really.
Epicurus has entered the chat.