Opinions on "Altruism" highly appreciated...what are your thoughts?

Question

Altruism-is selfless concern for the welfare of others. Altruism focuses on a motivation to help others or a want to do good without reward.

I'm working on a psychology paper on the topic of Altruism and I just need a few thoughts and ideas from anyone who is interested and knows any little thing about the subject. Your help is greatly appreciated and I am willing to choose the best answer so you can get 10 points. Here are some questions given by the professor to help us out with it. I'm not asking for anyone to do my report for me, it is just that outside opinions are going to really help, thank you again.

How have altruistic acts played a role in your life?
Describe when you have been helped in an altruistic way by another
person or helped someone yourself in this way.
How do you think we can encourage others to be helpful members of
society?
What factors have played a role in why you have chosen not to help
someone? How might you have changed the situation?

Answer 1

The biggest problem in discussing altruism is in defining it. If you squeeze too tightly in your definition you will have nothing left to look at.

Take the ones you provided: "selfless concern" and "do good without reward". Can anything truly be said to be completely selfless or without reward? Economists suggest that anything we do is done for some perceived benefit, even if it is something obscure such as 'living in a better world' or 'making yourself feel good'.

If we exclude any possible kind of reward, the only altruistic acts possible are those which do not improve the world in any way, cannot be seen as favorable by you or by anyone else whose opinion you value, nor may you get even so much as an acknowledgement or awareness of your help from the recipient of your aid. And it's hard to think of something that fits all these requirements and is still actually beneficial to someone else.

Most fans of altruism use a looser definition which allows some kind of reward, just not direct renumeration. So it is then altruistic to stop and help a motorist you don't know who is having car trouble (I usually get at least a smile, a thank-you, and social approval when I do this) or to donate blood to a blood bank (which may go to a friend or even back to you if the timing is right... and you get a cookie), to name a few examples.

I note the specific definitions you are using (they seem to be from wikipedia) don't even require any action. Just a 'concern' and a 'motivation'. So you would be altruistic if you WANTED to help someone but never actually did. Most definitions I've seen aren't quite this loose... they do require actual action at a cost of time and energy.

Biologists have studied this phenomenon among animals who occasionally can be seen to act out altruistic roles purely by instinct. Even in these cases some reward can be seen - there are birds which take care of eggs of their siblings (but only their siblings - so the payoff is that the 50% of the DNA they share with their siblings has a greater survival rate). It can also be seen in obscure creatures such as slime molds.

Personally, I think most societies look favourably on altruistic behaviour because it is almost in essense societally beneficial bahaviour. Any of us has probably seen how a team pulling together can accomplish things that a collection of completely self-interested folks aren't likely to. In that sense, the difference between 'teamwork' and 'altruism' is that the latter applies to a society as a whole and implies a certain faith in it as well.

One version of altruism I think rather favourably of is 'reciprocal altruism'. This kind focuses not on society as a whole, but being generous to those who are known to likewise be generous to others (or at least are not parasites on the system). This cannot be applied to societies except very small ones, however, as large groups allow anonymity instead of a build-up of reputation as a giver or a leech.

Answer 2

a report is always better when it has a proposed argument. you let others think and analyze.
Let me help you by explaining this in the psychological perspective.
although pessimistic in its way, psychology has something to offer.
Altruistic acts are often consistent with the pleasure principle. that is, we engage in altruistic acts because we don't want to see people suffering. and the sight of the person suffering in front of us is not a good feeling. and so, we must eliminate this feeling. and by doing so, we help the person and thus, an altruistic act. however in contemporary psychology, this altruistic act is often explained by the reinforcement or reward a person gets every time he/she helps someone. when a person helps someone, he would usually receive a "thank you" and a smile. this is a great feeling on the part of the individual. and so, he will again perform the altruistic act in order to experience the great feeling. these are some important ideas here.
i recommend you give counter points to my arguments and report it to the class.

hope i helped you! ^_^

Answer 3

I think altruism is a sickness born from mental illness. Basic human instinct is self-preservation, and the betterment of conditions for yourself, and those with whom you are immediately concerned with--or care about deeply. Sacrificing what could be better used by yourself, or those you love--such as your time and money selflessly is an affront to reason. It demonstrates that you have no concern for your own well-being, irrationally 'love everything or everyone' equally, and are actually damaging both yourself and everyone you care about with your pursuit. I think it's an ugly sickness and should be a diagnosed mental health condition.

Answer 4

Think about a mother caring for a new born child.

Answer 5

i dont think to much about the out come, i just do it!