Altruism Self-Worth And Happiness

Empathy is a key helping value and has many definitions. According to Egan and Schroeder, empathy is a personality trait that allows a person to feel what others feel and have the ability to understand other people from the inside. It is also a state of feeling for others that is situation specific and can be a, “Feeling for and understand of another’s persons experiences” (Egan and Schroeder, 2009). Empathy is a “Basic value that informs and drive all helping behavior”, a communication skill and has three phases, empathic resonance, expressed empathy and received empathy (Egan and Schroeder, 2009).

As Guagnano, Stern, and Dietz (1995) interpret the Schwartz model, for a person to act altruistically, the person must be aware of negative consequences and also must attribute some responsibility to take appropriate action to persons like himself or herself. When people hold both these beliefs, they

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, 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.

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.

A similar study taken in 2010 by Harvard Business School surveyed 136 countries. They came to the conclusion that ones who are altruistic, and giving to one's less fortunate—in this case people who are donating financially to charity financially—were much happier than others

In psychology, altruism and egoism are two contrasting views on morality, one holding that one should value principles/actions that benefit others over oneself, the other holding that not only are we innately selfish species, but that selfishness is how one ought to act. While both theories of morality are prevalent throughout history and cultures around the world, I will be examining the two sides of egoism: physiological and ethical, and how these can be connected to altruism. These theories are essential because they provide a foundation, development and a further understanding of one’s needs.

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

From the moment you are born, you are being influenced. Influenced on what to wear, how to do your hair, how to speak, whom to associate with, etc. All of these criteria make up who you are. These influences determine how you think and what you believe. With all these influences in our daily lives we inevitably do actions throughout the day, and our actions have consequences. Some consequences are good and some are bad, but based on our actions are there ulterior motives involved? Do we do things to solely benefit ourselves or do we sometimes do things to help out others and the greater good of mankind? These questions bring to the surface the topics of egoism, psychological and ethical, and altruism.

The journal that I had selected deals with the relationship between health behaviors and happiness. Through the use of cross-sectional survey of 800 randomly selected university students, researchers were able to analyze what it takes for students to remain happy when undergoing many life struggles.

“I began learning long ago that those who are the happiest are those who do the most for others.” Booker T. Washington’s wise words accurately summarize what I learned throughout high school. I noticed that selfish people are the unhappiest and most discontent. In sharp contrast, I also observed that people who dedicate their lives to others are the most joyful and satisfied. People I admire tend to be selfless and servant-minded. I strive to mimic them, living with a selfless mindset. My special interests, talents, and unique experiences enabled me to make others’ lives better.

What do these texts suggest to you about the interplay between empathy and self-interest? Support your idea(s) with reference to one or more of the texts presented and to your previous knowledge and/or experience.

Altruism and prosocial behavior are linked with helping others. This can be seen in all aspects of life. For instance, young children helping each other when they fall, adolescents helping each other with schoolwork, and adults helping one another at work. To develop further, prosocial behavior and altruism can first be highly illustrated in children. Children are taught to help one another and this behavior grows with the child to their adulthood; therefore, people are taught to act in a caring manner towards those who need help.

Though I agree that altruism is an important characteristic of a happy person, I also believe that being slightly egoistic is vital to our happiness. According to the textbook, happiness is found in our own state, how we perceive the world, and our actions towards our self and others. However, if we only focus on our treatment of others, and aiding others in achieving their happiness, do our feelings of joy and satisfaction get tossed aside? I agree that caring for others is critical for our happiness, humans still need to apply some effort into our own desires for happiness. It is because our devotion to other people happiness, does not confirm that others will help us in our pursuit for happiness (Paquette

Selfishness. A personality trait that only bad people have. Incorrect. Selfishness is part of the nature of every living human being. Despite what all humans may believe selfishness is a part of all of us and is the driving force behind everything we do. In order to survive humans must be selfish and think of their own needs above other peoples. We must be selfish to our surrounding environment by using the resources essential to humans that our environment bears. Strangely enough it is often considered an insult to be called selfish.