True Altruism In Civilism

Register to read the introduction… They exist in a sustained environment built to their specifications. The prototype of civilization calls for humans to develop a high level of sociability. In the evolution of the species and their structures altruism has come to replace the archaic divisions between hunters and gatherers. Now, due to civilizations those lines have become less distinct, but still exist. The altruist is the ultimate hunter. By going into realms which are unattainable to the average man, either financially or mentally, they hunt in the unknown. They then return to the folds of civilization to disperse what they have attained. The hunters take risks as the gatherers wait. As the recipient of the altruist action the rest of civilization become the gathers. But as Mayr questioned: Can there be any real altruism?

The conception and maintenance of civilizations answers this question with a resounding no. Civilization is a survival mechanism. Pure altruism is unattainable. The closest humans could come to pure altruism would be act of animity, but even these are questionable as the person who acted still has some knowledge as to what occurred. The knowledge of having done something "good" or "beneficial", makes true altruism impossible because …show more content…
They may or may not feel good based on the reaction of the civilization which they inhabit. Then there is the recipient of the action. This reaction can be observed on several levels, depending on who the altruist is and who their target is. The target, through rules and regulation set up by the civilized society, must then act accordingly. The target may then be guilted into duplicating this behavior. Others who may or may not wish to receive the benefits of being an altruist in their society also model the behavior. By this means the survival of man is