Do you think altruism is a gene in humanity and would you want to be free from it?

Question

I am a very generous person, and think that the world needs more generous persons. But some think that generosity maybe genetic related.

Answer 1

first - good for you - - I do not know if it is genetic or not, my dad had his moments and I think some motives as well - - my mom has always been genuinely so - - I too am quite altruistic but it is something that I get tremendous pleasure out of.. I live in a poor country and often times a small amt of cash, properly placed, can do a large amount of good -

so, good for you, and enjoy your own generosity - quietly is best but it should help to make you feel better every day of your life.. ok - quik story - I paid for a cataract operation for a 70 yr old lady in the slums of Bkk - - she couldn't see and now she can - and though I rarely tell the story, I get to feel good everyday just for having helped someone else - price tag $250...

Answer 2

While altruism has been observed in the animal kingdom among animals that generally lack the mental capability to actually decide whether or not to be altruistic (and thus suggesting a genetic source instead of a mental or social one), I don't think the same could be said for humans.

Humans rather obviously do have a variety of 'herd' instincts that encourage socialization, communication, and the like, but I wouldn't say the same for generousity or kindness. Instincts are usually things that happen without thinking about it, as if they had a mind of their own. They're independant of culture, background, socialization, and experience. But I think it almost goes without saying that all of these things DO affect what altruism people have, and many, many people exhibit no observable altruism whatsoever.

Even if there were a genetic inclination for some people to be altruistic, I suspect that - like most human instincts - they could be resisted if one wanted to. Most people I know do want less instincts rather than more... and arguably if altruism was a good idea then one wouldn't need instinct to arrive at it. Good ideas tend to get used by people for that fact alone.

And I'll go one step further - I don't think blind altruism is a good idea. At its core level, altruism harms the survival of the individual which helping the survival of the community. But if that community contains someone non-altruistic, he can reap all the benefits with none of the penalties (which is why altruism IS very rare, and often very narrowly displayed when it is instinct).

Humans, above all creatures, possess the mental capacity to try and penetrate obfuscations of that sort: avoid scams and shed leeches. I often wonder at people who do blindly give to others without investigating how their generousity is being used... I have found that in some cases all that is really happening is someone gets rich and the donor gets a false selse of well-being.

Mind you, I'm not saying any kind of altruism is a bad idea. I happen to think that evidence of how truly powerful it is can be seen in the proliferation of charities (and governments) in spite of such scams. Just THINK FIRST. Who would want to live a lie or feed the leeches instead of the hungry?

Answer 3

Humans are naturally capable of being altruistic. Even animals seem to display this trait with some frequency. Look at people like Martin Luther King or Schindler. Of course, one could maintain that these individuals practiced "altruism" for their own gain. But how does one go about demonstrating that psychological egoism is true? How does one prove that people always act for their own selfish interests and not for the interests of the other? The theory that claims people always act for their own interests really seems far-fetched. There are some good psychological studies that have been undertaken which indicate that altruism is indeed possible and may be rooted in our biology.

Answer 4

Only if a gene is favorable to a species is it passed on.
Altruism works for humankind precisely because if you are helpful towards others, they are more likely to be helpful to you.
Check out BBC/radio 4/In Our Time/Archives/Philosophy/
"Altruism - how can evolutionary biology explain it?"

Answer 5

We are in possession of altruistic organisms for certain. Ones which behave in a manner benefitting other organisms at the cost of themselves.

So in behaving altrusitically an organism reduces the amount of offspring it may itself produce while increasing the amount of another organism's offspring.

Altruism is seen throughout the animal kingdom. There are many species of animals that will signal alarms of predators, this decreases their chances of survival because of drawing attention to themselves while increasing the survival of the ones who hear the alarm.

Altruism is complex and paradox because if Darwin's theory of Natural selection holds true than how can one species of animal behave both altruistically and not altruistically. Wouldn't the ones calling out the alarms at some point cease to exist due to natural selection?

Here is an article aboutt he discovery of the "altruistic gene":

For the first time, scientists say they have traced the origin of an “altruism gene,” possibly shedding light on the nagging mystery of how generosity and cooperation evolved.



Volvox carterii, a type of alga (Courtesy A. Nedelcu)

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The findings, they add, suggest that at least some altruism genes evolved from genes that originally served to suppress some biological activities in lean times.

The scientists traced an “altruism gene” in Volvox carterii, a primitive multi-cellular creature, to its one-celled ancestor.

Volvox, thanks to its simplicity, is considered possibly the best living representative of another great evolutionary event now lost in time: the emergence of multi-cellularity.

See link below.

Answer 6

altruism is a fantasy, when we act in apparently altruistic ways we are simply trying to minimize our feelings of guilt and maximize our feelings of self-worth.

Answer 7

you lie my friend all things must be done for yourself or you hold back all that can be given .saying you are a giving person begs for me to say, why do you thank it so ?do you not gain from your giving and if so ,and it is so ,then are you simple not using others to gain for yourself ?