Altruism
Altruism is a disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others. Writers have defined psychological altruism as caring about other people and their needs without regard for your own needs. We perceive altruism as a virtue. As such, the Bible enjoins us in the book of Mark chapter 12 verse 31 to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.
Altruism is opposed to egoism, which has various forms. Writers describe ethical egoism as the doctrine that holds that individuals ought to do what is in their self-interest. Psychological egoism, for its part, is the doctrine that holds that individuals are always motivated by self-interest. For instance, rational egoism is the belief that it is rational to act in one’s self interest.
Whereas some individuals seem to practise altruism genuinely, others seem to have selfish motives. How altruistic are we as individuals? Do our motives for being altruistic matter? How can we be altruistic without any selfish motives?
Selfish Aspect of Altruism
The theory of psychological egoism explains the selfish aspect of altruism. The theory of psychological egoism is the view that self-interest and selfishness always motivates humans. Thus, this occurs even in what seem to be acts of altruism. It claims that when people choose to help others, they do so ultimately because of the personal benefits that they themselves expect to obtain directly or indirectly from so doing.
Kendra Charry in “How Psychologists Explain Altruistic Helpful Behaviours” questions if we ever engage in helping others for truly altruistic reasons. She questions whether, on the other hand, there are hidden benefits to ourselves that guide our altruistic behaviours. Upon a closer examination, we may discover that some form of self-interest motivates our seemingly altruistic acts.
We may make a charitable donation for the sole purpose of receiving a tax deduction for financial benefits. We may also build a community centre only to name it after ourselves for self-aggrandisement. Similarly, we may perform an act of generosity with the expectation of reciprocation from the receiving party. In the same vein, we may give alms to the poor in order to appear sanctimonious to society. We therefore realise that we carry out these acts with selfish motives.
Do our motives matter?
However, when we carry out an act of altruism, do our motives matter? If we have a selfish motive for being altruistic, does it make our act of altruism less effective? You may give a loaf of bread to a hungry beggar out of a genuine desire to help the beggar. You may also do this in order to be seen by others as generous. To the hungry beggar however, you have fulfilled a need and he does not care about your motive for doing so, be it selfish or unselfish. Does your motive for helping affect the effectiveness of the act? At the end of the day, you have fed the hungry beggar.
We may acknowledge that our motives for helping someone may not affect the effectiveness of the act. However, when we have selfish motives for being altruistic and we pretend to act out of unselfish motives, we deceive and manipulate others into perceiving us to be what we are not. We may end up living a lie. As a result we may have feelings of guilt and shame. And it is not possible to deceive everyone all the time as stated by Abraham Lincoln. He stated that “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
The Practice of Altruism without Selfish Motives
So how can we practise altruism without any selfish motives? To do so, our genuine actions should come from the heart. Antoine de Saint-Exupery in “The Little Prince” states that “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye”.
We must also practise altruism with all our heart, in order for it to be genuine. The book of Colossians chapter 3, verse 23 of the Bible states that, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for human beings.” When we do things from our heart and with all our heart, people perceive this as genuine.
Another way to practise altruism without any selfish motives is to have an altruistic perspective. According to Kristen Renwick Monroe in “The Roots of Moral Courage”, an altruistic perspective is a particular way of looking at the world. With this perspective, altruists see themselves as bound to others through their own common humanity.
She states that the altruist sees a human being where the rest of us see a stranger. She notes that this world view is a great part of the altruist’s basic identity. As such, it makes it simply unimaginable for the altruist to engage some actions such as turning away from those in need. Thus when we have an altruistic perspective, this will move us to help others in need. This is because it will be part and parcel of us to help others.
We can also practise altruism without any selfish motives by showing empathy to others. According to Steve Taylor in “Pure Altruism – the Connection that Explains Why We Help Strangers”, pure altruism is rooted in empathy. He states that empathy creates a connection that enables us to feel compassion. He notes that as such, we can sense the suffering of others. He notes that this gives rise to an impulse to alleviate their suffering, which in turn gives rise to altruistic acts.
Finally, to practise altruism without any selfish motives, we need to have a passion for altruism. Passion is said to be the greatest motivator. This is as shown in the Nigerian proverb, “Send a boy where he wants to go and you’ll see his best pace.” When we have a passion to be kind and helpful to others and when we genuinely enjoy seeing other people happy, we are less likely to engage in acts of altruism only for our own selfish purposes.
Conclusion
May we all strive to be altruistic in a bid to make the world a better place.
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Thought provoking piece as usual.
I am of the school of thought that “there is always a reason behind a reasonable act”. This therefore indicates that whatever a person does must be justified by an intent one way or the other. Altruism to me is a way of recognizing what we could possibly call a “higher grade of reason” as long as selfishness is concerned. As long as an act does not indicate a form of exploitation, it should be considered altruistic, otherwise, we may simply be fooling ourselves when we think we are purely selfless.
That’s true. Thanks for your comments.
“Empathy creates a connection that enables us to feel compassion”
This reminds me of the scripture that says “When Jesus saw the crowd, He was moved by compassion…”
Being altruistic comes with a certain spontaneity which is really satisfying in the end. If we humans aim at lending a hand to alleviate the pain of others, the world would be a better place. Let love lead.
So true. Thanks for your comments.
German philosopher immanuel kant believed that the motive behind an individual’s actions underscored its ethical merits. An egotistical credo takes away the value of everything. Altruism should therefore serve as the basis of a functional world and civilized society. Its important for us all to adopt an existential code which revolves around selfless kindness. The article is useful because it looks at an issue that affects us all.
Very thought provoking.
Ultimately the result is what matters most. If in giving to someone that person has a need fulfilled and my ego is satisfied, the reason for doing the act may not be relevant after all.
True, we may be splitting hairs here. 😁 Thanks for your comments.
A good name is better than riches, as altruism is better than selfish motives!
The reward behind altruism is eternal unlike the latter which has an instant reward, shame or no reward.
The Word of God and Society encourage us to live a life worth emulating, and that’s living an altruistic and not a selfish lifestyle. But it’s sad and worrying the current trend of selfishness, in all we do, even in preaching God’s Word.
May God instil in us empathy in all we do. Amen.
Amen and may God help us all.
Amen.
Thanks very much
Most welcome
Awesome. Very intriguing and introspective. 🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️🏳️
Thanks counsel.
Fantastic and thought-provoking read, HM.
I wonder though, if it’s fair and reasonable to expect humans, a fundamentally selfish species ,to act in an absolutely selfless manner. At best we may practice enlightened self- interest.
Biblically I even dare to to postulate, Maame Lawyer, that we are expected to do good in our own interest. The golden commandment require us to do good unto others because we expect same from others. That’s not purely selfless, is it? Same for the 5th commandment; we’re enjoined to honour our parents so that we may live long.
Ultimately we do good because of the rewards we expect from God and society . And of course we pay a heavy price via social/legal sanctions and also by missing out on the kingdom of God ( if u believe in that).
Personally, though, I don’t expect much from others. It keeps me sane…lol
Thanks for your insightful comments. Very much appreciated.
Very thought provoking. Empathy and Altruism 🤔
Thanks
‘Y3 pa pa fa’ ….’ do good and take; in other words, if you do good to a fellow human being, you actually do it for yourself. Personally, I dont believe anything like ‘practising altruism genuinely ‘ because it doesn’t exist. There is always a catch; a benefit you know you will derive for being altruistic. The Bible tells us that it is more blessed to do good (be altruistic) than to receive good (be the beneficiary of an act of altruism). The real /genuine reason therefore a person will be altruistic is because that individual knows that there is surely an expected benefit to be derived, whatever form that derived benefit may be. Aminata Sow Fall’s ‘The Beggars’ Strike ‘ encapsulates this truism beautifully
That’s true. I appreciate your comments, thanks.
I dare say that for the believer, the driving force behind any act of altruism is the expectation of making it to heaven which to a large extent can be viewed as selfish. Of course the benefit or reward is for the hereafter. From this perspective, we can say that all acts of altruism have some selfish motives which is positive. Once the reward is not for immediate self gratification on this earth but in the hereafter, we see acts of altruism more of a responsibility than playing to the gallery.
Very great topic, keep up the fire.
Thanks for your comments and the compliment. Most grateful.
Great piece Heidi.
Helping others should give us inner peace and joy, no other selfish motives should be attached. It should also be borne out of genuine love, not pity.
Very thought provoking. Well done !
Thanks so much Franklina. I appreciate your comments.
Insightful. I do think personal values and societal norms affect our actions in being altruistic to some degree. Acts of kindness are reinforced with positive feedback whereas self centred acts are frowned upon.
Human nature makes us egoistic under certain circumstances especially when we feel threatened or insecure.
Nonetheless our world is a better place with more of altruism.
Yes that’s true. Thanks so much for your comments.