Go too far down that road, and you're applying it to all altruistic behaviors, claiming there's really no such thing as altruism because it's all in service to

Go too far down that road, and you're applying it to all altruistic behaviors, claiming there's really no such thing as altruism because it's all in service to the ego, and concluding you might as well act as selfishly as possible. Personally I think it's ok to do altruistic things, and conclude from the evidence that you're an altruistic person. It is the most simple and straightforward explanation, and Occam's Razor is as sharp as ever. And given the way cognitive dissonance works, even a person who starts out as ego-driven will likely become more altruistic over time, if they do altruistic things with no concrete reward.