an explanation for everything

Yes, and why does he want the world to be a better place to live in? So that the human race can live with more ease, and hence survive with more ease. The discovery of antibiotics, a very good example of "human" activity, helped us to prevent so many deaths. You really think the fight for survival has finished? Well think again.... Why do people go to work in the morning and toil the whole day? do they prefer to do that? no....... they do so because they want to get money...to eat. to get food for their family, so that they can survive and reproduce. once the family is "complete", they want money for a new car. This is because newer cars are more comfortable. making their existance easier. The easier their existence, the higher are the chances that they will survive longer and produce better quality gametes, and better gametes are produced by more healthy individuals. even though they do not plan to have more children, life keeps the opton open....

Humans are no more struggling to survive, but they are struggling to live in a better way; to live in comfort; to live longer; to explore new horizons. Humans no longer want to multiply in numbers but they want to be few but have quality.

You are SERIOUSLY mistaken there.......... If we do not want to multiply, why do people have children at all?

I think self-preservation can mean physical self-preservation of my biological life. But I think we are also sometimes motivated by a desire to preserve ourselves in other ways: we may desire to be remembered; or to have our values, our ideas, to live on; or we may want to leave a trace of ourselves in culture, or history. A simple example: I have had a few pieces of academic work published. OK I am driven in part to progress in my career, to make a living, and so preserve my physical life. But I am also motivated, in part, I think, by the idea that after I die, there may be still some traces of who I was, my values, and concerns preserved in these texts. I might better preserve my physical being by having a more active lifestyle, or by having work that earns more money. You clearly mean something very different. I think I disagree but I am fascinated by the idea.

If you want to leave behind a trace, it can be because of the following reasons:- 1)If it is something that helps mankind, like your academic work, well then that will help the species to survive better. 2) If it will make the people who remember you happy, well then its again for propagation of the species, because it is a proven fact that physically and mentally healthy individuals produce better gametes. 3) If it gives you joy right now to know that you will be remembered, then we are back to the same explanation. So you see, unconsciously whatever you are doing is for those those two purposes only. Most of the things we do can be explained by the fact that we do it for out happiness, and we need happiness because.....well.............you know now :)

Oh i meant these in a very VERY literal sense. You said that you would rather like to preserve "who you are" rather than your physical being. tell me, is there a choice between the two?

Forgive me if I appear to belittle the concept of religion, but what is any religion but a set of guidelines as to how to live life. These guidelines are made palatable by mythology, and rituals and everything else that constitutes that religion. For example, Hinduism says that one should not apply violence against women. Now is this not but the most obvious way of preserving your species?

And as to putting the good of many before preservation of self, well, you answered the question yourself. It is better for the species that more people survive. So if sacrificing yourself helps more people to survive, then there you are........thats the explanation. This is basically what drives soldiers.