Does Altruism Exist?

Does Altruism Exist? 14/06/09

An analysis of assuming altruism.

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Altruism could be defined in one or more definitions. It could also be explained from general knowledge. On the other hand most people would not know exactly the term means. Altruism is defined as a deliberate pursuit of the interests or welfare of others or the public interest. Whether or not humans can be altruistic, which is an adjective that describes someone and their characteristics or personality, is a controversial issue. Not only can it be controversial, how would you explain it to a friend? Before going into further research and after reading the text from the textbook, the following is what I would tell a friend: To just say that altruism is the random act of kindness that is done every day without knowing is so easy. To take it a step further, I believe that altruism is a human behavior and deals with social interaction. It also depends on the situation whether or not a person is fully altruistic or if it happens from time to time. There are some scientists, psychologists, and people of every faith that believe that we are altruistic or just being normal people. However, it is not very easy to call any one person altruistic.

Since one can’t really prove how true altruism is in a person, it may not exist since people are able to willingly, quickly react in a selfless manner. It is a person’s moral sense to not be altruistic because there are no motivations to be altruistic, to allow them to be engaged in a selfless act (1). A staple reason why altruism does not exist is the fact that everyone treats each other the same way. When this happens, those kind people will get a different reaction from the receivers. No matter what happens, those who give are never going to get the correct response back. They must purposely have a choice to act altruistic. In actuality, they care for those who are suffering rather than those who may need a lending hand with an every day ordeal (2). Since it is the human instinct to help others for good, ethical reasons to do so, altruism no longer exists as value to humans as an act of selflessness.

One important understanding that every nonbeliever may ponder is that people may not be altruistic because of the fact that there is no motive that allows people to be kind or go beyond their own means to help their fellow citizen. Everyone is helping others out because they find pleasure in helping people making it through a situation. Therefore, there is no actual reason for altruism to exist. Why would it is exist when people are doing the same actions as they would if it did exist? They are most likely to exercise their personal interest to benefit their own selves rather than others. This allows them to feel good. Altruism is something you can not practice. You are not expected to put on a performance when someone needs your help. You have to use your conscious rather than motivation (3).

 

  1. http://www.lewrockwell.com/alston/alston28.html
  2. http://www.aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/altruism.html
  3. http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/Research/HNatureProposalsArticles/Final.ALookintoHumanAltru.html

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  • Joseph

    Could it be that Altruism is conceived as a duty, as a moral duty (the law) or a religious duty? In that sense how can it exist, for there is no love involved.

  • Joseph

    Could it be that Altruism is conceived as a duty, as a moral duty (the law) or a religious duty? In that sense how can it exist, for there is no love involved.

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  • Nick

    I full-heartedly agree. True altruism does not exist. It's a nice concept, but like you said, it cannot be practiced. Human beings act out of self-interest, it is in our nature. The moment you “lend a hand to someone” because you “want to”, that hinders the selflessness of the act; you are not acting out of selflessness, but out of your own self-interest. Quite simply, you cannot do something you do not want to do (unless coerced); but even then, you are doing that “something” because you “want to” out of fear for the potential repercussions or consequences. Therefore, altruism cannot be practiced.

  • Nick

    I full-heartedly agree. True altruism does not exist. It's a nice concept, but like you said, it cannot be practiced. Human beings act out of self-interest, it is in our nature. The moment you “lend a hand to someone” because you “want to”, that hinders the selflessness of the act; you are not acting out of selflessness, but out of your own self-interest. Quite simply, you cannot do something you do not want to do (unless coerced); but even then, you are doing that “something” because you “want to” out of fear for the potential repercussions or consequences. Therefore, altruism cannot be practiced.

  • http://craigvolpe.com Craig Volpe

    I think it’s generally true that humans act out of self interest however I also believe altruism exists. Here is hypothetical situation:
    My little brother is going to die. I have choice of letting him die and inheriting his possessions, or I can sacrifice myself to save him. Let’s assume if I let him die no one will know that I could have saved him so no one will judge me about it. As an atheist, I do not believe in an afterlife and have no desire to die because I cease to exist at that point. Which also means I don’t care about what people think of me once I’m dead. The only time I would desire to die is if it ended unbearable suffering I was experiencing, which would not be true in this scenario. The only selfish aspect of sacrificing myself would be avoiding remorse I would experience if I let him die. Everything else being equal, I would rather live with that remorse than die. And yet I would sacrifice myself to save him. There are countless reasons why it would be in my self interest to live, and only one smaller reason why it would be in my self interest to sacrifice myself. I attribute the reason why I would save him to altruism.

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