Altruism is the principle and moral practice
of concern for happiness of other human beings
and/or animals, resulting in a quality of
life both material and spiritual.
It is a traditional virtue in many cultures
and a core aspect of various religious traditions
and secular worldviews, though the concept
of "others" toward whom concern should be
directed can vary among cultures and religions.
In an extreme case, altruism may become a
synonym of selflessness which is the opposite
of selfishness.
The word "altruism" was coined by the French
philosopher Auguste Comte in French, as altruisme,
for an antonym of egoism.
He derived it from the Italian altrui, which
in turn was derived from Latin alteri, meaning
"other people" or "somebody else".Altruism
in biological observations in field populations
of the day organisms is an individual performing
an action which is at a cost to themselves
(e.g., pleasure and quality of life, time,
probability of survival or reproduction),
but benefits, either directly or indirectly,
another third-party individual, without the
expectation of reciprocity or compensation
for that action.
Steinberg suggests a definition for altruism
in the clinical setting, that is "intentional
and voluntary actions that aim to enhance
the welfare of another person in the absence
of any quid pro quo external rewards".
In one sense, the opposite of altruism is
spite; a spiteful action harms another with
no self-benefit.
Altruism can be distinguished from feelings
of loyalty, in that whilst the latter is predicated
upon social relationships, altruism does not
consider relationships.
Much debate exists as to whether "true" altruism
is possible in human psychology.
The theory of psychological egoism suggests
that no act of sharing, helping or sacrificing
can be described as truly altruistic, as the
actor may receive an intrinsic reward in the
form of personal gratification.
The validity of this argument depends on whether
intrinsic rewards qualify as "benefits".
The term altruism may also refer to an ethical
doctrine that claims that individuals are
morally obliged to benefit others.
Used in this sense, it is usually contrasted
with egoism, which claims individuals are
morally obligated to serve themselves first.
== The notion of altruism ==
The concept has a long history in philosophical
and ethical thought.
The term was originally coined in the 19th
century by the founding sociologist and philosopher
of science, Auguste Comte, and has become
a major topic for psychologists (especially
evolutionary psychology researchers), evolutionary
biologists, and ethologists.
Whilst ideas about altruism from one field
can affect the other fields, the different
methods and focuses of these fields always
lead to different perspectives on altruism.
In simple terms, altruism is caring about
the welfare of other people and acting to
help them.
== Scientific viewpoints ==
=== 
Anthropology ===
Marcel Mauss's book The Gift contains a passage
called "Note on alms".
This note describes the evolution of the notion
of alms (and by extension of altruism) from
the notion of sacrifice.
In it, he writes:
Alms are the fruits of a moral notion of the
gift and of fortune on the one hand, and of
a notion of sacrifice, on the other.
Generosity is an obligation, because Nemesis
avenges the poor and the gods for the superabundance
of happiness and wealth of certain people
who should rid themselves of it.
This is the ancient morality of the gift,
which has become a principle of justice.
The gods and the spirits accept that the share
of wealth and happiness that has been offered
to them and had been hitherto destroyed in
useless sacrifices should serve the poor and
children.
Compare Altruism (ethics) – perception of
altruism as self-sacrifice.
Compare explanation of alms in various scriptures.
=== Evolutionary explanations ===
In the science of ethology (the study of animal
behaviour), and more generally in the study
of social evolution, altruism refers to behaviour
by an individual that increases the fitness
of another individual while decreasing the
fitness of the actor.
In evolutionary psychology this may be applied
to a wide range of human behaviors such as
charity, emergency aid, help to coalition
partners, tipping, courtship gifts, production
of public goods, and environmentalism.Theories
of apparently altruistic behavior were accelerated
by the need to produce theories compatible
with evolutionary origins.
Two related strands of research on altruism
have emerged from traditional evolutionary
analyses and from evolutionary game theory
a mathematical model and analysis of behavioural
strategies.
Some of the proposed mechanisms are:
Kin selection.
That animals and humans are more altruistic
towards close kin than to distant kin and
non-kin has been confirmed in numerous studies
across many different cultures.
Even subtle cues indicating kinship may unconsciously
increase altruistic behavior.
One kinship cue is facial resemblance.
One study found that slightly altering photographs
so that they more closely resembled the faces
of study participants increased the trust
the participants expressed regarding depicted
persons.
Another cue is having the same family name,
especially if rare, and this has been found
to increase helpful behavior.
Another study found more cooperative behavior
the greater the number of perceived kin in
a group.
Using kinship terms in political speeches
increased audience agreement with the speaker
in one study.
This effect was especially strong for firstborns,
who are typically close to their families.
Vested interests.
People are likely to suffer if their friends,
allies, and similar social ingroups suffer
or even disappear.
Helping such group members may therefore eventually
benefit the altruist.
Making ingroup membership more noticeable
increases cooperativeness.
Extreme self-sacrifice towards the ingroup
may be adaptive if a hostile outgroup threatens
to kill the entire ingroup.
Reciprocal altruism.
See also Reciprocity (evolution).
Direct reciprocity.
Research shows that it can be beneficial to
help others if there is a chance that they
can and will reciprocate the help.
The effective tit for tat strategy is one
game theoretic example.
Many people seem to be following a similar
strategy by cooperating if and only if others
cooperate in return.One consequence is that
people are more cooperative if it is more
likely that individuals will interact again
in the future.
People tend to be less cooperative if they
perceive that the frequency of helpers in
the population is lower.
They tend to help less if they see non-cooperativeness
by others and this effect tend to be stronger
than the opposite effect of seeing cooperative
behaviors.
Simply changing the cooperative framing of
a proposal may increase cooperativeness such
as calling it a "Community Game" instead of
a "Wall Street Game."
A tendency towards reciprocity implies that
people will feel obligated to respond if someone
helps them.
This has been used by charities that give
small gifts to potential donors hoping thereby
to induce reciprocity.
Another method is to announce publicly that
someone has given a large donation.
The tendency to reciprocate can even generalize
so people become more helpful toward others
in general after being helped.
On the other hand, people will avoid or even
retaliate against those perceived not to be
cooperating.
People sometimes mistakenly fail to help when
they intended to, or their helping may not
be noticed, which may cause unintended conflicts.
As such, it may be an optimal strategy to
be slightly forgiving of and have a slightly
generous interpretation of non-cooperation.
People are more likely to cooperate on a task
if they can communicate with one another first.
This may be due to better assessments of cooperativeness
or due to exchange of promises.
They are more cooperative if they can gradually
build trust, instead of being asked to give
extensive help immediately.
Direct reciprocity and cooperation in a group
can be increased by changing the focus and
incentives from intra-group competition to
larger scale competitions such as between
groups or against the general population.
Thus, giving grades and promotions based only
on an individual's performance relative to
a small local group, as is common, may reduce
cooperative behaviors in the group.
Indirect reciprocity.
The avoidance of poor reciprocators and cheaters
causes a person's reputation to become very
important.
A person with a good reputation for reciprocity
have a higher chance of receiving help even
from persons they have had no direct interactions
with previously.
Strong reciprocity.
A form of reciprocity where some individuals
seem to spend more resources on cooperating
and punishing than would be most beneficial
as predicted by several established theories
of altruism.
A number of theories have been proposed as
explanations as well as criticisms regarding
its existence.
Pseudo-reciprocity.
An organism behaves altruistically and the
recipient does not reciprocate but has an
increased chance of acting in a way that is
selfish but also as a byproduct benefits the
altruist.
Costly signaling and the handicap principle.
Since altruism takes away resources from the
altruist it can be an "honest signal" of resource
availability and the abilities needed to gather
resources.
This may signal to others that the altruist
is a valuable potential partner.
It may also be a signal of interactive and
cooperative intentions since those not interacting
further in the future gain nothing from the
costly signaling.
It is unclear if costly signaling can indicate
a long-term cooperative personality but people
have increased trust for those who help.
Costly signaling is pointless if everyone
has the same traits, resources, and cooperative
intentions but become a potentially more important
signal if the population increasingly varies
on these characteristics.Hunters widely sharing
the meat has been seen as a costly signal
of ability and research has found that good
hunters have higher reproductive success and
more adulterous relations even if they themselves
receive no more of the hunted meat than anyone
else.
Similarly, holding large feasts and giving
large donations has been seen as ways of demonstrating
one's resources.
Heroic risk-taking has also been interpreted
as a costly signal of ability.
Both indirect reciprocity and costly signaling
depend on the value of reputation and tend
to make similar predictions.
One is that people will be more helping when
they know that their helping behavior will
be communicated to people they will interact
with later, is publicly announced, is discussed,
or is simply being observed by someone else.
This have been documented in many studies.
The effect is sensitive to subtle cues such
as people being more helpful when there were
stylized eyespots instead of a logo on a computer
screen.
Weak reputational cues such as eyespots may
become unimportant if there are stronger cues
present and may lose their effect with continued
exposure unless reinforced with real reputational
effects.
Public displays such as public weeping for
dead celebrities and participation in demonstrations
may be influenced by a desire to be seen as
altruistic.
People who know that they are publicly monitored
sometimes even wastefully donate money they
know are not needed by recipient which may
be because of reputational concerns.Women
have been found to find altruistic men to
be attractive partners.
When looking for a long-term partner, altruism
may be a preferred trait as it may indicate
that he is also willing to share resources
with her and her children.
It has been shown that men perform altruistic
acts in the early stages of a romantic relationship
or simply when in the presence of an attractive
woman.
While both sexes state that kindness is the
most preferable trait in a partner there is
some evidence that men place less value on
this than women and that women may not be
more altruistic in presence of an attractive
man.
Men may even avoid altruistic women in short-term
relationships which may be because they expect
less success.People may compete for social
benefit from a burnished reputation, which
may cause competitive altruism.
On the other hand, in some experiments a proportion
of people do not seem to care about reputation
and they do not help more even if this is
conspicuous.
This may possibly be due to reasons such as
psychopathy or that they are so attractive
that they need not be seen to be altruistic.
The reputational benefits of altruism occur
in the future as compared to the immediate
costs of altruism in the present.
While humans and other organisms generally
place less value on future costs/benefits
as compared to those in the present, some
have shorter time horizons than others and
these people tend to be less cooperative.Explicit
extrinsic rewards and punishments have been
found to sometimes actually have the opposite
effect on behaviors compared to intrinsic
rewards.
This may be because such extrinsic, top-down
incentives may replace (partially or in whole)
intrinsic and reputational incentives, motivating
the person to focus on obtaining the extrinsic
rewards, which overall may make the behaviors
less desirable.
Another effect is that people would like altruism
to be due to a personality characteristic
rather than due to overt reputational concerns
and simply pointing out that there are reputational
benefits of an action may actually reduce
them.
This may possibly be used as derogatory tactic
against altruists, especially by those who
are non-cooperators.
A counterargument is that doing good due to
reputational concerns is better than doing
no good at all.Group selection.
It has controversially been argued by some
evolutionary scientists such as David Sloan
Wilson that natural selection can act at the
level of non-kin groups to produce adaptations
that benefit a non-kin group even if these
adaptions are detrimental at the individual
level.
Thus, while altruistic persons may under some
circumstances be outcompeted by less altruistic
persons at the individual level, according
to group selection theory the opposite may
occur at the group level where groups consisting
of the more altruistic persons may outcompete
groups consisting of the less altruistic persons.
Such altruism may only extend to ingroup members
while there may instead prejudice and antagonism
against outgroup members (See also in-group
favoritism).
Group selection theory has been criticized
by many other evolutionary scientists.
Such explanations do not imply that humans
are always consciously calculating how to
increase their inclusive fitness when they
are doing altruistic acts.
Instead, evolution has shaped psychological
mechanisms, such as emotions, that promote
altruistic behaviors.Every single instance
of altruistic behavior need not always increase
inclusive fitness; altruistic behaviors would
have been selected for if such behaviors on
average increased inclusive fitness in the
ancestral environment.
This need not imply that on average 50% or
more of altruistic acts were beneficial for
the altruist in the ancestral environment;
if the benefits from helping the right person
were very high it would be beneficial to err
on the side of caution and usually be altruistic
even if in most cases there were no benefits.The
benefits for the altruist may be increased
and the costs reduced by being more altruistic
towards certain groups.
Research has found that people are more altruistic
to kin than to no-kin, to friends than to
strangers, to those attractive than to those
unattractive, to non-competitors than to competitors,
and to members ingroups than to members of
outgroup.The study of altruism was the initial
impetus behind George R. Price's development
of the Price equation, which is a mathematical
equation used to study genetic evolution.
An interesting example of altruism is found
in the cellular slime moulds, such as Dictyostelium
mucoroides.
These protists live as individual amoebae
until starved, at which point they aggregate
and form a multicellular fruiting body in
which some cells sacrifice themselves to promote
the survival of other cells in the fruiting
body.
Selective investment theory proposes that
close social bonds, and associated emotional,
cognitive, and neurohormonal mechanisms, evolved
in order to facilitate long-term, high-cost
altruism between those closely depending on
one another for survival and reproductive
success.Such cooperative behaviors have sometimes
been seen as arguments for left-wing politics
such by the Russian zoologist and anarchist
Peter Kropotkin in his 1902 book Mutual Aid:
A Factor of Evolution and Peter Singer in
his book A Darwinian Left.
=== Neurobiology ===
Jorge Moll and Jordan Grafman, neuroscientists
at the National Institutes of Health and LABS-D'Or
Hospital Network (J.M.) provided the first
evidence for the neural bases of altruistic
giving in normal healthy volunteers, using
functional magnetic resonance imaging.
In their research, published in the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences USA in
October 2006, they showed that both pure monetary
rewards and charitable donations activated
the mesolimbic reward pathway, a primitive
part of the brain that usually responds to
food and sex.
However, when volunteers generously placed
the interests of others before their own by
making charitable donations, another brain
circuit was selectively activated: the subgenual
cortex/septal region.
These structures are intimately related to
social attachment and bonding in other species.
Altruism, the experiment suggested, was not
a superior moral faculty that suppresses basic
selfish urges but rather was basic to the
brain, hard-wired and pleasurable.
One brain region, the subgenual anterior cingulate
cortex/basal forebrain, contributes to learning
altruistic behavior, especially in those with
trait empathy.
The same study has shown a connection between
giving to charity and the promotion of social
bonding.In fact, in an experiment published
in March 2007 at the University of Southern
California neuroscientist Antonio R. Damasio
and his colleagues showed that subjects with
damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex
lack the ability to empathically feel their
way to moral answers, and that when confronted
with moral dilemmas, these brain-damaged patients
coldly came up with "end-justifies-the-means"
answers, leading Damasio to conclude that
the point was not that they reached immoral
conclusions, but that when they were confronted
by a difficult issue — in this case as whether
to shoot down a passenger plane hijacked by
terrorists before it hits a major city — these
patients appear to reach decisions without
the anguish that afflicts those with normally
functioning brains.
According to Adrian Raine, a clinical neuroscientist
also at the University of Southern California,
one of this study's implications is that society
may have to rethink how it judges immoral
people: "Psychopaths often feel no empathy
or remorse.
Without that awareness, people relying exclusively
on reasoning seem to find it harder to sort
their way through moral thickets.
Does that mean they should be held to different
standards of accountability?"In another study,
in the 1990s, Dr. Bill Harbaugh, a University
of Oregon economist, concluded people are
motivated to give for reasons of personal
prestige and in a similar fMRI scanner test
in 2007 with his psychologist colleague Dr.
Ulrich Mayr, reached the same conclusions
of Jorge Moll and Jordan Grafman about giving
to charity, although they were able to divide
the study group into two groups: "egoists"
and "altruists".
One of their discoveries was that, though
rarely, even some of the considered "egoists"
sometimes gave more than expected because
that would help others, leading to the conclusion
that there are other factors in cause in charity,
such as a person's environment and values.
=== Psychology ===
The International Encyclopedia of the Social
Sciences defines psychological altruism as
"a motivational state with the goal of increasing
another’s welfare."
Psychological altruism is contrasted with
psychological egoism, which refers to the
motivation to increase one's own welfare.There
has been some debate on whether or not humans
are truly capable of psychological altruism.
Some definitions specify a self-sacrificial
nature to altruism and a lack of external
rewards for altruistic behaviors.
However, because altruism ultimately benefits
the self in many cases, the selflessness of
altruistic acts is brought to question.
The social exchange theory postulates that
altruism only exists when benefits to the
self outweigh costs to the self.
Daniel Batson is a psychologist who examined
this question and argues against the social
exchange theory.
He identified four major motives for altruism:
altruism to ultimately benefit the self (egoism),
to ultimately benefit the other person (altruism),
to benefit a group (collectivism), or to uphold
a moral principle (principlism).
Altruism that ultimately serves selfish gains
is thus differentiated from selfless altruism,
but the general conclusion has been that empathy-induced
altruism can be genuinely selfless.
The empathy-altruism hypothesis basically
states that psychological altruism does exist
and is evoked by the empathic desire to help
someone who is suffering.
Feelings of empathic concern are contrasted
with feelings of personal distress, which
compel people to reduce their own unpleasant
emotions.
People with empathic concern help others in
distress even when exposure to the situation
could be easily avoided, whereas those lacking
in empathic concern avoid helping unless it
is difficult or impossible to avoid exposure
to another's suffering.
Helping behavior is seen in humans at about
two years old, when a toddler is capable of
understanding subtle emotional cues.
In psychological research on altruism, studies
often observe altruism as demonstrated through
prosocial behaviors such as helping, comforting,
sharing, cooperation, philanthropy, and community
service.
Research has found that people are most likely
to help if they recognize that a person is
in need and feel personal responsibility for
reducing the person's distress.
Research also suggests that the number of
bystanders witnessing distress or suffering
affects the likelihood of helping (the Bystander
effect).
Greater numbers of bystanders decrease individual
feelings of responsibility.
However, a witness with a high level of empathic
concern is likely to assume personal responsibility
entirely regardless of the number of bystanders.Many
studies have observed the effects of volunteerism
(as a form of altruism) on happiness and health
and have consistently found a strong connection
between volunteerism and current and future
health and well-being.
In a study of older adults, those who volunteered
were higher on life satisfaction and will
to live, and lower in depression, anxiety,
and somatization.
Volunteerism and helping behavior have not
only been shown to improve mental health,
but physical health and longevity as well,
attributable to the activity and social integration
it encourages.
One study examined the physical health of
mothers who volunteered over a 30-year period
and found that 52% of those who did not belong
to a volunteer organization experienced a
major illness while only 36% of those who
did volunteer experienced one.
A study on adults ages 55+ found that during
the four-year study period, people who volunteered
for two or more organizations had a 63% lower
likelihood of dying.
After controlling for prior health status,
it was determined that volunteerism accounted
for a 44% reduction in mortality.
Merely being aware of kindness in oneself
and others is also associated with greater
well-being.
A study that asked participants to count each
act of kindness they performed for one week
significantly enhanced their subjective happiness.
It is important to note that, while research
supports the idea that altruistic acts bring
about happiness, it has also been found to
work in the opposite direction—that happier
people are also kinder.
The relationship between altruistic behavior
and happiness is bidirectional.
Studies have found that generosity increases
linearly from sad to happy affective states.Studies
have also been careful to note that feeling
over-taxed by the needs of others has conversely
negative effects on health and happiness.
For example, one study on volunteerism found
that feeling overwhelmed by others' demands
had an even stronger negative effect on mental
health than helping had a positive one (although
positive effects were still significant).
Additionally, while generous acts make people
feel good about themselves, it is also important
for people to appreciate the kindness they
receive from others.
Studies suggest that gratitude goes hand-in-hand
with kindness and is also very important for
our well-being.
A study on the relationship happiness to various
character strengths showed that "a conscious
focus on gratitude led to reductions in negative
affect and increases in optimistic appraisals,
positive affect, offering emotional support,
sleep quality, and well-being.".
=== 
Sociology ===
"Sociologists have long been concerned with
how to build the good society" ("Altruism,
Morality, and Social Solidarity".
American Sociological Association.).
The structure of our societies and how individuals
come to exhibit charitable, philanthropic,
and other pro-social, altruistic actions for
the common good is a largely researched topic
within the field.
The American Sociology Association (ASA) acknowledges
public sociology saying, "The intrinsic scientific,
policy, and public relevance of this field
of investigation in helping to construct 'good
societies' is unquestionable" ("Altruism,
Morality, and Social Solidarity" ASA).
This type of sociology seeks contributions
that aid grassroots and theoretical understandings
of what motivates altruism and how it is organized,
and promotes an altruistic focus in order
to benefit the world and people it studies.
How altruism is framed, organized, carried
out, and what motivates it at the group level
is an area of focus that sociologists seek
to investigate in order to contribute back
to the groups it studies and "build the good
society".
The motivation of altruism is also the focus
of study; some publications link the occurrence
of moral outrage to the punishment of perpetrators
and compensation of victims.
=== Pathological altruism ===
Pathological altruism is when altruism is
taken to an unhealthy extreme, and either
harms the altruistic person, or well-intentioned
actions cause more harm than good.
The term "pathological altruism" was popularised
by the book Pathological Altruism.
Examples include depression and burnout seen
in healthcare professionals, an unhealthy
focus on others to the detriment of one's
own needs, hoarding of animals, and ineffective
philanthropic and social programs that ultimately
worsen the situations they are meant to aid.
== Religious viewpoints ==
Most, if not all, of the world's religions
promote altruism as a very important moral
value.
Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism,
Judaism, and Sikhism, etc., place particular
emphasis on altruistic morality.
=== Buddhism ===
Altruism figures prominently in Buddhism.
Love and compassion are components of all
forms of Buddhism, and are focused on all
beings equally: love is the wish that all
beings be happy, and compassion is the wish
that all beings be free from suffering.
"Many illnesses can be cured by the one medicine
of love and compassion.
These qualities are the ultimate source of
human happiness, and the need for them lies
at the very core of our being" (Dalai Lama).Still,
the notion of altruism is modified in such
a world-view, since the belief is that such
a practice promotes our own happiness: "The
more we care for the happiness of others,
the greater our own sense of well-being becomes"
(Dalai Lama).
In the context of larger ethical discussions
on moral action and judgment, Buddhism is
characterized by the belief that negative
(unhappy) consequences of our actions derive
not from punishment or correction based on
moral judgment, but from the law of karma,
which functions like a natural law of cause
and effect.
A simple illustration of such cause and effect
is the case of experiencing the effects of
what one causes: if one causes suffering,
then as a natural consequence one would experience
suffering; if one causes happiness, then as
a natural consequence one would experience
happiness.
=== Jainism ===
The fundamental principles of Jainism revolve
around the concept of altruism, not only for
humans but for all sentient beings.
Jainism preaches the view of Ahimsa – to
live and let live, thereby not harming sentient
beings, i.e. uncompromising reverence for
all life.
It also considers all living things to be
equal.
The first Tirthankara, Rishabhdev, introduced
the concept of altruism for all living beings,
from extending knowledge and experience to
others to donation, giving oneself up for
others, non-violence and compassion for all
living things.
Jainism prescribes a path of non-violence
to progress the soul to this ultimate goal.
A major characteristic of Jain belief is the
emphasis on the consequences of not only physical
but also mental behaviors.
One's unconquered mind with anger, pride (ego),
deceit, greed and uncontrolled sense organs
are the powerful enemies of humans.
Anger spoils good relations, pride destroys
humility, deceit destroys peace and greed
destroys everything.
Jainism recommends conquering anger by forgiveness,
pride by humility, deceit by straightforwardness
and greed by contentment.
Jains believe that to attain enlightenment
and ultimately liberation, one must practice
the following ethical principles (major vows)
in thought, speech and action.
The degree to which these principles are practiced
is different for householders and monks.
They are:
Non-violence (Ahimsa);
Truthfulness (Satya);
Non-stealing (Asteya);
Celibacy (Brahmacharya);
Non-possession or non-materialism (Aparigraha);The
"great vows" (Mahavrata) are prescribed for
monks and "limited vows" (Anuvrata) are prescribed
for householders.
The house-holders are encouraged to practice
the above-mentioned five vows.
The monks have to observe them very strictly.
With consistent practice, it will be possible
to overcome the limitations gradually, accelerating
the spiritual progress.
The principle of non-violence seeks to minimize
karmas which limit the capabilities of the
soul.
Jainism views every soul as worthy of respect
because it has the potential to become Siddha
(God in Jainism).
Because all living beings possess a soul,
great care and awareness is essential in one's
actions.
Jainism emphasizes the equality of all life,
advocating harmlessness towards all, whether
the creatures are great or small.
This policy extends even to microscopic organisms.
Jainism acknowledges that every person has
different capabilities and capacities to practice
and therefore accepts different levels of
compliance for ascetics and householders.
=== Christianity ===
Altruism is central to the teachings of Jesus
found in the Gospel, especially in the Sermon
on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain.
From biblical to medieval Christian traditions,
tensions between self-affirmation and other-regard
were sometimes discussed under the heading
of "disinterested love", as in the Pauline
phrase "love seeks not its own interests."
In his book Indoctrination and Self-deception,
Roderick Hindery tries to shed light on these
tensions by contrasting them with impostors
of authentic self-affirmation and altruism,
by analysis of other-regard within creative
individuation of the self, and by contrasting
love for the few with love for the many.
Love confirms others in their freedom, shuns
propaganda and masks, assures others of its
presence, and is ultimately confirmed not
by mere declarations from others, but by each
person's experience and practice from within.
As in practical arts, the presence and meaning
of love becomes validated and grasped not
by words and reflections alone, but in the
making of the connection.
St Thomas Aquinas interprets 'You should love
your neighbour as yourself' as meaning that
love for ourselves is the exemplar of love
for others.
Considering that "the love with which a man
loves himself is the form and root of friendship"
and quotes Aristotle that "the origin of friendly
relations with others lies in our relations
to ourselves," he concluded that though we
are not bound to love others more than ourselves,
we naturally seek the common good, the good
of the whole, more than any private good,
the good of a part.
However, he thinks we should love God more
than ourselves and our neighbours, and more
than our bodily life—since the ultimate
purpose of loving our neighbour is to share
in eternal beatitude: a more desirable thing
than bodily well being.
In coining the word Altruism, as stated above,
Comte was probably opposing this Thomistic
doctrine, which is present in some theological
schools within Catholicism.
Many biblical authors draw a strong connection
between love of others and love of God.
1 John 4 states that for one to love God one
must love his fellowman, and that hatred of
one's fellowman is the same as hatred of God.
Thomas Jay Oord has argued in several books
that altruism is but one possible form of
love.
An altruistic action is not always a loving
action.
Oord defines altruism as acting for the other's
good, and he agrees with feminists who note
that sometimes love requires acting for one's
own good when the other's demands undermine
overall well-being.
German philosopher Max Scheler distinguishes
two ways in which the strong can help the
weak.
One way is a sincere expression of Christian
love, "motivated by a powerful feeling of
security, strength, and inner salvation, of
the invincible fullness of one’s own life
and existence".
Another way is merely "one of the many modern
substitutes for love, ... nothing but the
urge to turn away from oneself and to lose
oneself in other people’s business."
At its worst, Scheler says, "love for the
small, the poor, the weak, and the oppressed
is really disguised hatred, repressed envy,
an impulse to detract, etc., directed against
the opposite phenomena: wealth, strength,
power, largesse."
=== Islam ===
In Islam, the concept 'ithaar' (إيثار)
(altruism) is the notion of 'preferring others
to oneself'.
For Sufis, this means devotion to others through
complete forgetfulness of one's own concerns,
where concern for others is rooted to be a
demand made by ALLAH on the human body, considered
to be property of ALLAH alone.
The importance lies in sacrifice for the sake
of the greater good; Islam considers those
practicing Eyaar as abiding by the highest
degree of nobility.
This is similar to the notion of chivalry,
but unlike that European concept, in i'thar
attention is focused on everything in existence.
A constant concern for ALLAH (i.e.
God) results in a careful attitude towards
people, animals, and other things in this
world.
This concept was emphasized by Sufis of Islam
like Rabia al-Adawiyya who paid attention
to the difference between dedication to ALLAH
(i.e.
God) and dedication to people.
Thirteenth-century Turkish Sufi poet Yunus
Emre explained this philosophy as "Yaratılanı
severiz, Yaratandan ötürü" or We love the
creature, because of The Creator.
For many Muslims, i'thar must be practiced
as a religious obligation during specific
Islamic holidays.
However, i'thar is also still an Islamic ideal
to which all Muslims should strive to adhere
at all times.
=== Judaism ===
Judaism defines altruism as the desired goal
of creation.
The famous Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook stated
that love is the most important attribute
in humanity.
This is defined as bestowal, or giving, which
is the intention of altruism.
This can be altruism towards humanity that
leads to altruism towards the creator or God.
Kabbalah defines God as the force of giving
in existence.
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto in particular focused
on the 'purpose of creation' and how the will
of God was to bring creation into perfection
and adhesion with this upper force.Modern
Kabbalah developed by Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag,
in his writings about the future generation,
focuses on how society could achieve an altruistic
social framework.
Ashlag proposed that such a framework is the
purpose of creation, and everything that happens
is to raise humanity to the level of altruism,
love for one another.
Ashlag focused on society and its relation
to divinity.
=== Sikhism ===
Altruism is essential to the Sikh religion.
The central faith in Sikhism is that the greatest
deed any one can do is to imbibe and live
the godly qualities like love, affection,
sacrifice, patience, harmony, truthfulness.
The concept of "seva," or selfless service
to the community for its own sake is an important
concept in Sihkism.The fifth Nanak, Guru Arjun
Dev, sacrificed his life to uphold 22 carats
of pure truth, the greatest gift to humanity,
the Guru Granth.
The ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur, sacrificed his
head to protect weak and defenseless people
against atrocity.
In the late seventeenth century, Guru Gobind
Singh Ji (the tenth guru in Sikhism), was
in war with the Mughal rulers to protect the
people of different faiths when a fellow Sikh,
Bhai Kanhaiya, attended the troops of the
enemy.
He gave water to both friends and foes who
were wounded on the battlefield.
Some of the enemy began to fight again and
some Sikh warriors were annoyed by Bhai Kanhaiya
as he was helping their enemy.
Sikh soldiers brought Bhai Kanhaiya before
Guru Gobind Singh Ji, and complained of his
action that they considered counter-productive
to their struggle on the battlefield."What
were you doing, and why?" asked the Guru.
"I was giving water to the wounded because
I saw your face in all of them," replied Bhai
Kanhaiya.
The Guru responded, "Then you should also
give them ointment to heal their wounds.
You were practicing what you were coached
in the house of the Guru."
It was under the tutelage of the Guru that
Bhai Kanhaiya subsequently founded a volunteer
corps for altruism.
This volunteer corps still to date is engaged
in doing good to others and trains new volunteering
recruits for doing the same.
=== Hinduism ===
In Hinduism Selflessness (Atmatyag), Love
(Prema), Kindness (Daya) and Forgiveness (Kshama)
are considered as the highest acts of humanity
or "Manushyattva".
Giving alms to the beggers or poor people
is considered as a divine act or "Punya" and
Hindus believe it will free their souls from
guilt or "Paapa" and will led them to heaven
or "Swarga" in afterlife.
Altruism is also the central act of various
Hindu mythology and religious poems and songs.
Swami Vivekananda, the legendary Hindu monk,
has said -"Jive prem kare jeijon, Seijon sebiche
Iswar" (Whoever loves any living being, is
serving god.).
Mass donation of clothes to poor people (Vastraseva),
or blood donation camp or mass food donation
(Annaseva) for poor people is common in various
Hindu religious ceremonies.
Swami Sivananda, an Advaita scholar, reiterates
the views in his commentary synthesising Vedanta
views on the Brahma Sutras, a Vedantic text.
In his commentary on Chapter 3 of the Brahma
Sutras, Sivananda notes that karma is insentient
and short-lived, and ceases to exist as soon
as a deed is executed.
Hence, karma cannot bestow the fruits of actions
at a future date according to one's merit.
Furthermore, one cannot argue that karma generates
apurva or punya, which gives fruit.
Since apurva is non-sentient, it cannot act
unless moved by an intelligent being such
as a god.
It cannot independently bestow reward or punishment.
However the very well known and popular text,
the Bhagavad Gita supports the doctrine of
karma yoga (achieving oneness with God through
action) & "nishkaama karma" or action without
expectation / desire for personal gain which
can be said to encompass altruism.
Altruistic acts are generally celebrated and
very well received in Hindu literature and
is central to Hindu morality.
== Philosophy ==
There exists a wide range of philosophical
views on humans' obligations or motivations
to act altruistically.
Proponents of ethical altruism maintain that
individuals are morally obligated to act altruistically.
The opposing view is ethical egoism, which
maintains that moral agents should always
act in their own self-interest.
Both ethical altruism and ethical egoism contrast
with utilitarianism, which maintains that
each agent should act in order to maximise
the efficacy of their function and the benefit
to both themselves and their co-inhabitants.
A related concept in descriptive ethics is
psychological egoism, the thesis that humans
always act in their own self-interest and
that true altruism is impossible.
Rational egoism is the view that rationality
consists in acting in one's self-interest
(without specifying how this affects one's
moral obligations).
== Genetics ==
The genes OXTR, CD38, COMT, DRD4, DRD5, IGF2,
GABRB2 have been found to be candidate genes
for altruism.
== See also ==
== Notes
