I agree. I don't think it even has to go as far as ill will. Even run-of-the-mill selfishness bleeds deeply into purported attempts to help others. Thus an ess

I agree. I don't think it even has to go as far as ill will. Even run-of-the-mill selfishness bleeds deeply into purported attempts to help others. Thus an essential part of helping anyone is: be sure that you're really doing it to _help them_. It's not sufficient by a long shot (as you rightly point out), but it is more or less necessary. Thanks for the frank discussion.