What is the motive behind Altruism?

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   jonnycomelatelyposted 11 years ago

   What is the motive behind Altruism?
   
   Altruism, the unselfish act - is it a Christian thing?  Or does it happen regardless of your religion?  If you don't give selflessly, why? 
   Do you give because you are rich?  Or do you give regardless of your wealth?

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   moonfrothposted 11 years ago

   I do not subscribe to the view that all acts are selfish--thus the person who loses his life saving a child did so because he lost a child of his own and was DRIVEN by his own need to give a life back, hence his act was ultimately a fulfillment of what HE wanted and what HE needed.  Hence his sacrifice was selfish.  Arguments of this kind are specious--mumble around in the details long enough and you could probably argue that the sacrifice of Jesus was really a suicide he cooked up to protect his favourite camel breeders.  Yes, of course I'm being both irreverent and silly.  Because most of the answers to these kinds of questions tend to be glib and silly.  "Everything we do is motivated by self-interest" is another glib throw-away.  I think that position could be defended if amended to "MOST of what. . .", because as a species we do tend to satisfy our needs as much as we possibly can.  Freud called it the "pleasure principle", and most of the time most of us would yell, "bring it on!"  quite happily.  But not all the time.  There is unrewarded goodness in most people.  In the local news here, an 88-year-old man and his family had a terrible housefire.  House (uninsured) still standing, but the inside was destroyed.  that was six days ago.  Since then local contractors, suppliers, volunteers and neighbors have donated everything needed to completely re-build and refurbish the house and grounds.  They'll have a home much better than the original and it won't cost them a penny.  Now, you could say that all those people did all that good because it made them feel good, and since they all wanted to feel good, what they did was ultimately selfish.  Perhaps what we need here is some new language embodying new concepts, because Altruism denotes selfLESSness--but if we include feelings of personal pleasure as strong "benefits" of acting altruistically, then maybe the intense pleasure does legitimately call into question the quality of the original act.  For some reason this all reminds me of the old joke, "Beat me!  Beat me!" cried the masochist.  "No" said the sadist.  And on that altruistic note, it is 12:55 AM here, so I must to bed.

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      jonnycomelatelyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Not a glib answer by any means and love the humour!

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   Emanate Presenceposted 11 years ago

   My altruism has become more authentic since moving on from Christianity. When I am unselfish, it is because my true nature is allowed to act rather than my ego.
   
   Your question reminds me of when I purchased a van from an individual many years ago. Within two days, it had mechanical issues costing a few hundred dollars. He had told me it was without problems but sold it 'as is' so had no legal obligation to do anything towards it.
   
   I called just to talk with him about it, and he offered to cover the repairs. Within a week, more serious issues came to light. Again I called, really just to get some background information as it baffled the mechanics. Again he offered to cover the cost of repairs.
   
   I had to ask him, "Why are you doing this? Is it because of your religion?"
   
   He laughed and said, "I am a simple man and have no religion. I do this because of golf."
   
   It was a set-up, of course, and I bit. "Golf?" I asked, quite puzzled and curious.
   
   "Yes," he answered, "you see, when I play, if I have anything on my conscience my game is down. I offer to pay for the repairs so I can play a better game."
   
   No, it would not count as altruistic, but the story has some insight. And I agree that altruism is not altruism if there is benefit to the one who acts. Something like love - is it love or is it wanting something from another person? Good questions to ponder.

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   Justsilvieposted 11 years ago

   This question always makes people look inside to see if selflessness is really selfish and it if is all tied to to ego instead of just wanting to be a good person.
   
   I do not think it is a Christian thing or tied to any religion. I think it is a Human thing influenced by your upbringing and your life experiences. It makes me feel good to be able to help someone, so I am selfish, but I don't do it just for that reason in fact I or most other people are not going to think of the rewards while we are contemplating or doing something for someone, you just do it.

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