does true altruism exist in humans?

Question

there is no way to tell someone's thoughts. even altruistic acts may actually be done with an ulterior motive that can't been seen from the surface.

Answer 1

Altruism, in itself, is a gratifying act.

It feels good to help others.

In that sense, it does not exist.

Does it matter though? It is a positive thing that others gain pleasure from helping.

Answer 2

Absolutely. As far as motives, I don't think so. Some people just don't know any other way to be. I mean, come on, are you people saying Christ had an ulterior motive for loving his fellow man? On a lighter note, I believe they call call those people Aquarians, or people with many planets in Aquarius or the 11th house or ruled by Uranus. Check out the horoscope section and the legitimate astrologers! And by the way, What was Mother Theresa's ulterior motive? She got off on living in squalor? Ghandi"s? Peace and love? There's a hell of an ulterior motive. I guess what I'm saying is I need an example of what you mean. Because I hardly think those that risked their own lives to attempt to save people from the concentration camps had ulterior motives or were looking for sainthood. Some people just do what's right because that's what their heart tells them to do and that's all they know. It would never occur to them to hurt or cheat someone or lie to someone, because they wouldn't want it done to them. Are we so far gone in this society that we have to question what should be basic human decency and truthfulness and respect? And because we do so, there must be an ulterior motive? PS. Right on Om!!! And Blah...and I haven't finished reading the rest of the answers yet.

Answer 3

I prefer the Jungian concept that we share the collective unconcious. I should hope that if I have happy thoughts that it is shared by others and that if feel positively about a certain ideology others will share in that positivity. I understand for some there is a belief that there is no way someone could want this, but I want only peace in this world and truly believe that the mind is so powerful if we all share a positive thought, it would come true. This is why the power of prayer is so healing. Studies have actually proved that the more who pray at the same time for the same thing in what they believed was a totally unselfish manner also gained that prayer. There is physical evidence of the power of positive thinking in groups. Is that cool or what.

Answer 4

yes. think about the reactions of a lot of people when they see a major disaster like the 2004 tsunami TV. The common reaction is to feel sad about what happened. Now it seems that they are either feeling sympathy for the victims because they really care about them and their plight, or they are feeling sympathy out of some ulterior motive. But its very hard to argue that they are sad about what happened because they want to convince themselves they are good people. You could say that everybody just acted like they cared to seem like good people, but i think thats a real stretch. And our own firsthand experience of our own emotions shows us that we really do care about others. I think its very hard to find an ulterior motive in feeling sympathy; the skeptic would have to say that everybody is faking feeling sympathy (and also never feel sympathy themselves).

If you accept that people really do feel sympathy for others and thus care about them, its hard to see how altruism is impossible. If a person really does care about another person's well-being (which seems obvious) then how is it that they cannot act for the interests of the other? Saying that they are helping others (that they care about) because they want (for whatever reason) to is not denying the existence of altruism, its only saying that when we act, we have motives behind those acts.

What seems like a deep insight into human action is really only a trivial truth: we act because we have reasons for acting.

Answer 5

Getting gratification from helping others = altruism
Getting gratification from neither helping others nor hindering = aloofness, non-botheredness, non-responsiveness, submissiveness
Getting gratification from hinderiing others= saddism
Getting Gratification from self inflicted pain=masochism

You can use a big sentence instead of one word...why to get confused in having one word for a sentence. Yes it exists. Buddha, Gandhiji, Helen Keller, Mother Theresa are some examples. There is numerous nameless faces are also there...in all the above categories.

Answer 6

On altruism I recommend examining Kant's writing via fact he had an exceedingly exciting ideology on that theory. in spite of this, i've got faith interior the skill of altruism, via fact if each and every physique had it, then the international might actually be a greater valuable place... yet that's my 'perfected' imaginative and prescient of the international, and unquestionably, regrettably, there are continually ulterior motives. Ulterior motives are very confusing to do away with in human beings, and whilst i you should be an altruist, in actual actuality that I continually locate an ulterior reason to my "selfless strikes" and that for the period of itself is often on the inspiration of corruption in each and every experience of the notice. case in point, think of which you spot somebody drowning interior the sea. What might you do? bounce to save them, call for help, watch them drown. usually, human beings might say (in the event that they are in a position to swim) that they might bounce to save them yet is their determination in accordance with selflessness or a theory on the back of their ideas that, wow, they stored a life (in the event that they save the guy, that's). if reality be told, might the solid feeling you adventure while saving that individual evidence that by some ability you had an ulterior reason? in case you have been a real altruist, does not you sense your action as thoroughly typical, if that's sensible? What with regard to the guy who won't be in a position to swim and yet he nevertheless plunges interior the water to attempt and save that individual drowning. might that be altruism or stupidity? As human beings, we've maximum of thoughts and conflicting ideas that come into play that genuine altruism is impossible, yet while it occurs, that's a uncommon ingredient. And nevertheless I see that rarety via fact the only thank you to make the international a greater valuable place, yet then, i'm time-honored for being an idealist :)

Answer 7

No matter what, there is a personal gain or selfish reason in most, if not all, acts of altruism. By acting on behalf of others we are satisfying some kind of personal need.

Answer 8

Yes it does.
Unselfish concern for the welfare of others is something Christ and others advocated in their teachings but is not practiced by many who shout the loudest they they are followers of a certain belief.
True altruistic acts are performed un-noticed and do not require a press release.

Answer 9

if there are humans out there who are run by pure hatred, greed and arrogance, then there are definitely vividly altruistic humans out there too. everything has an opposite, and one could not exist without the other...both exist in contrast to one another. that's yin and yang, dude. xD

Answer 10

Have you been reading Freud again? Not everything results in ego satisfaction or sexual gratification.

Try reading about Faust and his selling his soul to the devil in exchange for a moment of perfect contentment.