Altruism Is Good Or Good?

Bartel (1976) defines prosocial behaviour as ‘behaviour that intentionally helps or benefits another person’. Batson (1987) defines altruism as ‘helping another person for no reward, and even at some cost to oneself.’ This definition of altruism seemingly depicts the behaviour as selfless, however there is a wealth of research which suggests that this is not the case.

Altruism, in which one selflessly devotes to the welfare of another without expecting anything in return, often elicits an inexplicable and intangible surge of joy, in which one gains a sense of purpose. For example, I have observed the therapists at PRANA, whom altruistically devote up to an hour, when initially only allotted a half-hour time slot, programming individualized treatments for each patient. In their hour- long treatments, they create a non-fraternizing relationship with their patients that is fully functional on trust, empathy, and generosity. Devoting that extra time to each patient gives not only the

Benjamin Cardozo has a strong argumentative essay against the idea of altruism. Cardozo’s central claim is if people allow altruism to be practiced in government then they will lose their individualism and their government would eventually collapse. To being his article Cardozo explains how the lower class will always dislike the upper class and that is the reason altruism has been a topic of discussion for centuries. Cardozo then proceeds to explain how the world is driven by self interest. The reason things get accomplished by people is for the reason of self interest. Cardozo explains that altruism would kill the idea of self interest and people would be less likely to be productive. Next Cardozo describes how altruism would make all people poor which would give the illusion that no one was actually poor. Cardozo then goes on to ask the question of how altruism

Altruism is when the actions of a person promote the best consequences for others, yet do not benefit the person who performed the act. Abruzzi and McGandy (2006) explain that Auguste Comte developed the term to support his ethical stance that humans are morally obliged to serve the interests of others,

Further, another form for caring is altruism this is characterized as helping others without any benefits in return. Altruism is acting to enhance an individual’s welfare regardless of the actions and consequences that can be brought upon oneself.

Altruism is a concept in which the individual sacrifices regard for themselves in the interest of another. The ethics of altruism state that a person should act in a matter where their self-sacrifice yields the greater well being on the whole. To put that statement in the form of a fundamental principle of rightness, an action is right if and only if (and because) the action brings a net-gain of well being to anyone except the individual performing the action. The altruistic mentality of an individual according to this moral theory means that any action that they undertake should be in the interest of others rather than themselves. The ethics of this concept also state that relationships of greater value to the individual carrying out an action should come second in priority to those they have with strangers since the close relationship has a much more meaningful connection to a person’s life. In these situations, the only morally correct way of acting is in the way that defeats the well being of the agent of an action for the sake of others.

Firefighters risk their lives in order to protect the public from fire and many other dangers. This seems like a noble selfless career but it cannot be considered truly altruistic because they are being paid for their services through monetary gain, recognition from the people they serve and many other benefits. Since they are receiving something in return it cannot be considered a truly altruistic action. If one would take a minute to think if they did not get paid to do what they do, would they continue to serve the people, risking their lives for absolutely nothing in return? The same pattern can be seen in many other “altruistic” behaviors. Parents feel like they are behaving in a selfless manner when they work and spend a huge chunk of their wages to send their children to receive an education instead of getting one themselves. While yes, this is noble of them to want their children to live a better quality of life than they did, the parents are still receiving the benefit of their own offspring being educated and therefore increasing their kids’ chances of prospering. The truly altruistic action would be to spend their lives paying for the education of kids they have never met, which have no connection to them

Altruism refers to the concern for the welfare and well being of others without personal gains or

I do think that when a person does a good deed, it makes them feel good inside, and most of the times the person is not expecting anything in return. Just knowing that they made someones day brighter makes them feel better about themselves, the reward being something internal rather than external. Therefore, even altruistic helping is egolistic to an extent.

Prosocial behavior refers to "voluntary actions that are intended to help or benefit another individual or group of individuals" (Eisenberg and Mussen 1989). This definition refers to consequences of the people who do the actions rather than the motivations behind those actions. These behaviors include a broad range of activities: sharing, comforting, rescuing, and helping. Though prosocial behavior can be confused with altruism, they are, in fact, two distinct concepts. Prosocial behavior refers to a pattern of activity, whereas, altruism is the motivation to help others out of pure regard for their needs rather than

Out of selfishness and altruism, which has more of a say in our decisions as people? It is arguable that humans are naturally selfish, with every decision we make ultimately being for the good of ourselves. In picking a future spouse we originally become interested in a person when their appearance is appealing to us, in choosing a group of friends we often choose groups that are able to bring us benefit and better social stature, in choosing jobs we prefer the one which will bring us more

Why should students help pick up fellow classmate's books that he or she dropped? Why should people give to the homeless? Why should humans become organ donors? Altruism is defined as a person's ability to go out of their way to enhance the welfare of someone else without anything in return. But it's not the "what" of altruism that is intriguing, it's the "why" that is truly fascinating. Scientist and researches may never pinpoint what makes humans exhibit altruistic behavior, but there is one thing that scientist and researches are sure about. Altruism plays an important role in running society, and the world can use more of it.

Many have defined altruism in a similar context, a special form of helping behaviour that is “an act that is motivated by the desire to benefit another individual rather than oneself” (Hogg &Vaughan, 2008). An altruistic act does not necessarily have a negative or zero value to the actor (Margolis, 1982) but a true altruistic act is detrimental to the actor's fitness and enhances another individual’s fitness, in other words, a selfless act (Batson, 1991). Throughout the evolution of altruism, there have been many controversies about the existence of true altruism. Most theories have argued that it stems from ulterior motives, but does that prove

"We are all here on earth to help others. What I can't figure out is what the others are here for." --W. H. Auden (1)

How do humans actually behave when faced with the decision to help others? The innate desire that compels humans to help is called altruism by psychologists. Through this feeling, humans transform from a selfish jerk to a more compassionate and caring person. Some psychologists believe that this feeling stems from nature itself. Despite the fact that some altruistic acts originate from the pressures of society, altruism predominantly comes from the survival of the fittest, the feeling of empathy, and the selfish desire to benefit your own kin.