How do atheists justify their altruistic behavior?

Question

I've met many an altruistic atheist. They don't have a religious text telling them how to act, so how do they justify their altruistic behavior? Many theists justify their altruism by saying that their actions will be rewarded with eternal bliss.

Why do atheists act altruistically in the absence of a promised reward?

Why is everybody assuming I'm a theist?

Fireball: By altruism, I mean "acting in a way that helps others."

Answer 1

Altruism is an evolved instinct in all social animals. Social animals could not survive without cooperation and altruism. It does not take much effort to see the distinct survival advantages of altruism.

We have evolved to "feel good" when helping others. The neurology of these feelings is under current investigation. It appears that in psychopathic individuals who do not feel pleasure from altruism there is a neurochemical breakdown in normal brain function.

Answer 2

Why should anyone have to "justify" altruistic behavior? Why must there always be a promised reward? Are you saying that only religious people can do good things for others? What about just being a nice person? What about good home training? What about treating people the way you expect to be treated? What about having respect for your fellow man? What about compassion? What about common sense? These things have nothing to do with religion. This is just being a decent human being. There are lots and lots of self-righeous people out there who claim to be religeous who are judgemental and treat everyone around them like absolute sh*t. What's their justification?

Answer 3

Simple, it's a part of the two rules I follow as an atheist:

1: Don't be a dick.
2: Treat other people the way you would want to be treated.

ADDENDUM: Questioner, that only works if you look at it from a purely individual survival-based perspective. Given that numbers of humans formed into groups to increase overall chances of survival, and these groups gradually turned into tribes, cities, nations; why would people NOT sacrifice for one another? If somebody is capable of realizing that without the contributions of various members of the group, none of them survive, why would they not feel they ought to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, etc etc? Given that groups of people can also form social conditions and social conditioning, wouldn't it be inevitable that somebody would realize that if they do something nice for somebody else, that person would be more likely to do nice things for other people, who in turn would be more likely etc etc until it comes right back to the first person? Why couldn't this attitude be taught to future generations, and evolve along with all the other stuff humans are innately able to do?

Makes a whole lot more sense than "god must have done it!", don't you think?

Answer 4

Well, I'm a Sagittarian. lol

We're fighters for justice. And I'm a real sap for the homeless and the financially disadvantaged. We have hundreds of panhandlers all over our massive city (Toronto) and I feel bad for them because some of them don't drink OR take drugs. They just live under a cardboard box on a warm Bay Street subway grate. They don't even collect social assistance because they say they refuse to "kiss up to The Man" for a few dollars a month.

I help the ones who accept it and I leave the ones who don't trust ANYBODY, alone. I've always believed we are our brothers' keepers. If not us ... then who?

I know that when I give them a blanket or gloves or a sleeping bag or tarpaulins, it's going to improve the quality of their lives for a while. A dumb old pair of GLOVES can make a difference! For me, it's a small gesture with satisfying rewards. Enough reward, for me, to inspire me to keep doing it.

I like to think it helps me become more "spiritually evolved" and enlightened. LOL

:)

Answer 5

Der! It's not altruism unless you do it purely for the sake of being nice. Therefore, using you logic, a believer can't be altruistic because they're only doing it to get to heaven - how selfish!

Answer 6

My motivation is boils down to the consequences of my actions. I treat others with respect because I would like to be treated with respect. There's nothing more to it.

I have seen arguments from evolutionary psychologists that say we are just as hard-wired for altruism as we are for making war.

EDIT: Did Fireball just admit she doesn't know what altruism means? Talk about reinforcing a stereotype.

Answer 7

How about this: Common sense.

I behave according to certain philosophies and principals that are really just common sense. Just because I don't have a "heaven or hell" scenario doesn't mean I don't have an ethics code. And it doesn't mean that I don't have something that I believe will happen when I die. Everyone is different. You can't just go throwing around generalities and summing up people as all having the same behavior no matter what religious beliefs that have.

Answer 8

Why do people need a promise of a future reward in some imagined afterlife in order to be good? Why not do it because it feels good RIGHT NOW to be generous to others, to know that you're alleviating someone's difficulties a little bit?

Answer 9

From what I've noticed, there are 2 reasons for this behaviour:

1) Doing good for others makes one feel good. Only sociopaths need the threat of torture to keep them in line.

2) Helping others helps the species. By being selfish and cruel, one is being not only self-destructive, but is acting to the detriment of the human race. By acting as a decent member of society, one helps others and him/herself.

(Fireball, dictionary.com is your friend.)

Answer 10

why should somebody have to justify a good deed? is it so hard to believe that somebody wants to volunteer their own time and resources for a reason other than because god told them to? im an atheist and ive done missionary work in four countries. apparently there are so few christians rolling up their sleeves for this "christian" organization that theyre calling on help from people like me, who believe in this sort of work simply because a good deed is its own reward.