Altruism : Pro-Social Behavior And Altruism

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.

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: “Devotion to the welfare of others, regard for others, as a principle of action; opposed to egoism or selfishness” (Britannica Online, 2008). Altruism is taking care of

Altruism, also known as selflessness, is one of the most puzzling topics in the public domain today. The main issue from the perspective of many scholars is how altruism can be effective. Even though many people get involved in lifelong altruism, only a few of them emerge to be effective in it. What could be the reason behind this? And what makes altruism such a common issue that everyone needs to engage in it? The producer, Peter Singer, puts on important points that give more light on the urgency of the altruism to the younger generation and how to make it effective in the long run.

Many acts of war occur under desperate circumstances, leading people to act out against their conscience and do immoral things. On August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs onto the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, destroying about 90 percent of each city. Ironically, the nuclear weaponry was originally built in self-defense against Germany, where an attempt at creating an atomic bomb was made, but ultimately failed, leaving the United States as the first and only country with nuclear weaponry. Upon the dropping of the bomb in Nagasaki, eighty thousand people died instantly, and tens of thousands died later on from the radioactive fallout. A Japanese newspaper, called The Nippon Times, questions why the bomb was

The current political atmosphere has brought about a renewal in the interest of the works of Ayn Rand. The Russian-American novelist has once again been thrust into the limelight for a new generation of readers and political thinkers. Her ideas have been lauded in the Wall Street Journal and Fox News, and like many things these days, has had her ideas bent to meet certain political agendas. Much like Lenin used the ideas of Marx and Engels, the political right has used Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead to push for their version of what America should be.

Altruism is an unselfish act, done for the benefit or welfare of others with without any motive of gain or reward for it. In short an act done with the sole purpose of helping others and asking nothing in return.

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,

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

In the anthropology department, at the end of the day, we’re trying to understand humans. One of the major puzzles in human evolution is the origin of altruism. Helping someone that we don't know at all is often considered one of the most extreme forms of altruism. Yet it happens frequently. The assumption is that helping strangers must be altruism because there’s no way for them to pay you back, and that this makes us unique because no other animals would be able to do this. So then there are a lot of hypotheses saying it must be culture, it must be social norms, it must be language that makes this possible.

Altruism is being selfless, putting someone elses' needs ahead of your own, doing something without expecting anything in return. The lecture heard in the audio talks about altruism, and how it is not as selfless as it seems.

First, on the nature of altruism and self-interest. Altruism is taught. Self-interest is inherent, almost like a reflex. This is best seen in the behavior of children. Throughout their development, kids are taught to share. They may learn directly through another person or by observations of others sharing and being nice, but it is something that is learned and not instinctual. Originally, they just take things for themselves. If they see a toy that they want, they take it regardless of whether it belongs to someone else or whether another child is playing with it. They act on their own self-interest until they learn otherwise. It’s fair to deduce from this that children have an innate instinct to act because of self-interest.

I believe that while it is an interesting story, Gyges' actions do not form a convincing argument for the fundamental egoism of humans. I believe that all people are a mix of egoism and altruism and that this would show through their actions if given the same opportunity as Gyges. While most people would probably commit at least one crime to benefit themselves, I believe that many people would also use their power to help others. In reality, one can observe countless examples of both egoism and altruism in our day to day lives. While there are many people who work only for their own benefit, there are also large numbers of people who work to help the poor, feed the hungry and care for the sick. For this reason I believe that human beings

First, it is important to understand what altruism is. Altruism is any act carried out by an individual in order to benefit another individual. [1, 2] At first glance,

According to Aronson, Wilson, and Akert (2013) prosocial behavior is defined as an act performed for the benefit of another person. Altruism is referred to as the want to help another individual even if it means no benefits, or possibly a cost, for the helper (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2013). One particular factor, the bystander effect, has a profound impact on whether or not people help others. The bystander effect states that as the number of people who witness an emergency increases, the likelihood that any of those people will help decreases (Aronson et al., 2013). Processes associated with the bystander effect such as pluralistic ignorance, diffusion of responsibility, and victim effect all impact the likelihood of prosocial