Some psycholigists claim there is no such thing as true altruism as the good feeling we get from commiting an act of selflessness to benefit others but not ourselves is in itself a reward.
What is your opinion? Do you ever do things which you consider to be altruistc?
2007-03-16 02:44:43 · 9 answers · asked by reallysuri 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Today being red nose day many people may feel they are being altruistic but do you think they are?
2007-03-16 02:48:07 · update #1
It exists as a concept.... but it is nigh-on impossible for a human being to achieve it. As those psychologists rightly stated... even what might otherwise be considered altruistic acts are performed in the interests of self-gratification.
The only way to achieve true altruism is to completely destroy the ego..... the notion of "self" ....
Only once one effectively does not exist as an individual to be concerned about.... something difficult to do while still living (since it involves putting away care for one's own life)...... can one begin to truly think of other people for their own sake.
If you have any intention of trying it, by the way.... try going an entire day without referring to yourself..... i.e. no saying "I", "me", "my", "mine" ... or any of that. It's not easy.
2007-03-16 02:52:17 · answer #1 · answered by Nihilist Templar 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Perfect altruism is an extreme, like perfect selfishness, which we seldom or never encounter in reality. Even the most selfish acts can sometimes benefit other people - I could spend somebody else's money on a treat for myself, but in so doing I support the business that I buy the treat from. I wouldn't worry about the existence or non-existence of altruism; I'd look more at the conclusions drawn by people who claim it doesn't exist. What else do they want to prove? What do they think are the implications? You'll usually find that such people have an excessively and unrealistically low opinion of human nature, based on pessimism rather than reality.
2007-03-16 22:47:47 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Psychologists are not philosophers. The fact that I may feel good afterwards does not mean that I seek a reward in doing a good deed.
Perhaps the best form of altruism is doing a good deed simply because it needs to be done. For example, one does not feed a hungry person because he thinks the person deserves feeding (which makes me sit in judgment) or because it will make me feel viirtuous, but because it NEEDS to be done. You put someone's wallet in the mail because you know that person needs his wallet. That it's also the good thing to do is beside the point.
A wise man once said it's not how much you give, but how much you have left. That's a pretty good measure of altruism.
See also Kant's Categorical Imperative.
2007-03-16 15:06:52 · answer #3 · answered by Greg B 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Recent studies have proved the opposite. When a researcher knocked a block from a table in the presence of a two year old, the toddler will always pick up the block and hand it to the researcher. It is personal experience that suppressed our altruistic nature.
2007-03-16 11:41:35 · answer #4 · answered by mediahoney 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You think in another way .You do a good thing to other . Ofcourse you will get a self gratifaction as well as self satisfaction . But by giving you that satisfaction the one who got benefitted by you will get a satisfaction because by recieving your help he gives you a satisfaction . So altruism gives satisfaction to all . It is a circular activity which has no real end . So ignore the things and be an altruist .
2007-03-16 10:26:37 · answer #5 · answered by subra 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think it's so much semantics like saying there's no free will. If it looks like altruism and smells like altruism, I say it's altruism. If I stick a quarter in the meter so a car doesn't get a ticket even if nobody's around, that's altruism no matter how good it makes me feel.
It sounds like altruism, to "them", should be accompanied by feelings of self-loathing to be valid. that's just ridiculous.
2007-03-16 10:32:58 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do plenty of vlunteer work, but I do it for ithers as well as myself. i guess altruism is just a part of someone's pesonality, which would go to show that there really is no true altruism, I think I would agree. although I do so much volunteer work (mainly with deprived children, or children in hospitals) I love the way I make them feel better and help them, but it laso makes me feel better about myself.
2007-03-16 14:45:14 · answer #7 · answered by mimma 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read the courtroom defense scene in The Fountainhead by ayn rand. Near the end of the book.
2007-03-16 21:32:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no it will never happen.
2007-03-16 10:02:14 · answer #9 · answered by lucifer d 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋