Altruism

Altruism is defined as the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of others (Collins English Dictionary, 2015). Studies indicate this fundamental element of human interaction originally steams from cooperative breeding, through the caring of young by parents, family and other unrelated adults (Balter, 2014). An argument is posed by Lawrence Summers suggesting that altruism should be reserved for social issues only and that markets should be self-interested (Summers, 2003). This…

actions. Altruism is the opposite of egoism and is said by egoists to be an illusion. The descriptive variant, also known as "psychological egoism," views egoism as a factual description of human affairs. Psychological egoism describes human nature as being wholly self-centered and self-motivated.…

light of creativity altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” In other words, each person has their own choices in regards of altruism. In the topic of altruism, most Americans tend to believe that altruism is a sense of act to help one another and get involved. Some people may believe that altruism is just worthless and idle. It leaves me on the question, “What do you have to do to be labeled as an altruistic person?” Common sense seems to dictate that altruism is a feature that…

yourself. Self-sacrifice is the standard of the good that is altruism. However, altruism has more than one form. Decisions, made on the will of another, or to convince another that what you want for them is better than what they want for themselves. This is the problem with altruism. Our society as a whole should not have much of an altruistic focus, not because altruism is unimportant, but because there is a grey area between altruism and egoism, an area of ideals, intentions, and values. Your…

Altruism versus Egoism Debate According to Maner & Gailliot (2007), human inclinations are not mainly selfish: altruism has been evolutionarily valued in humans, and even the youngest children normally try to be caring, kind or helpful. Maner & Gailliot (2007) claim that evolutionary theorists for a long time have centered on competition and the ruthlessness of natural selection, but fail to take into consideration a key factor: human beings cannot live in a world that lacks charity and social…

receiving pain. Although the results could not provide evidence that altruism is either innate or learned through experiences, Crockett discusses how in previous research there has been evidence that 3-month old infants showed preference for helpful looking characters rather than harmful looking ones. This suggests that altruism and the desire to be helpful to others may be an inherent quality in humans. As touched upon earlier, altruism may somewhat be motivated bythe need to feel good about…

theories of Ayn Rand on altruism, James Rachels’ view psychological egoism and Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative in order to propose a moral theory on how we ought to behave both individually and as a society. As a frame of reference, I will first present a case on why psychological egoism applies to humans which will tie in with both individual and global morality. In the same way, I will state reasons why I believe Rand was precise in pointing out the fact that altruism is arbitrary but…

When one performs an altruistic act, one expects that act to be repaid in full later one. They expect to receive an equal act of altruism such that it balances out any risks, or costs, cancel out almost. Once again, why is reciprocal altruism valued in society? What happens if the second party reneges? What if you will never see them again? How will your altruism be repaid? What is the driving force that causes you to act altruistically? Clearly a parallel can be drawn with cooperation as…

him from committing crimes to now he’s started volunteering, then that very easily could be looked at as altruistic. Altruism in My Life Picking the topic of altruism wasn’t a very difficult choice for me. This is a trait that I feel I have had my entire life…

purely by the desire to benefit others, and as such is not ‘really’ altruistic. Reciprocity as a social norm should not be confused with ‘reciprocal altruism’ theory, which ultimately involves a reciprocal element even though the initial altruistic act was to one’s expense (Trivers, 1971, cited in Ashton, et al.…