Such thing as true altruism?

[Mr.Pinchy]

Is there such a thing as true altruism? Just wanting to know.

I mean many people who volunteer do it for fear of god (Catholics), recognition (med school), or acceptance from others. It seems most philanthropists set up charities right before they die or right when they're trying to boost their image.

Othertimes, we hold the door open for the young lady behind us because we hope we'll get a nice smile and we do it for the older lady because it's a social convention.

When's the last time you did something for another at no benefit to yourself or even at a cost?

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by chrisjustinparr

Is there such a thing as true altruism? Just wanting to know.

I mean many people who volunteer do it for fear of god (Catholics), recognition (med school), or acceptance from others. It seems most philanthropists set up charities right before they die or right when they're trying to boost their image.

Othertimes, we hold the door open for the young lady behind us because we hope we'll get a nice smile and we do it for the older lady because it's a social convention.

When's the last time you did something for another at no benefit to yourself or even at a cost?

i dont know about you, but i do it all the time. not to boast. just being matter of factly. it shouldnt be so hard to believe that one only has a reason to do something for some benefit like a smile from a woman or a social pressure for doing it for an old lady. i just do it out of reflex. well, maybe there is a benefit. just i just do it because i see myself like that.

 

[hossoso]

Originally Posted by chrisjustinparr

When's the last time you did something for another at no benefit to yourself or even at a cost?

I do this quite frequently and sometimes at great cost to myself. It is a shame others mistake it for misanthropy or malice.

 

[Mr.Pinchy]

Originally Posted by sho'nuff

i dont know about you, but i do it all the time. not to boast. just being matter of factly. it shouldnt be so hard to believe that one only has a reason to do something for some benefit like a smile from a woman or a social pressure for doing it for an old lady. i just do it out of reflex. well, maybe there is a benefit. just i just do it because i see myself like that.

Well who taught you the "reflex"? If it was your culture, doesn't that mean that it is a social convention? If you do it because you see yourself like that, does it mean that you do it so that others can see yourself like that too?

 

[MetroStyles]

Simple. All altruism is a driven by the ego seeking to make itself bigger. Which is not to say it is a bad thing.

 

[IUtoSLU]

I was a philosophy major and I always tend towards the ideal and abstract. That being said, who the hell cares and/or why does it make a difference?

 

[ysc]

Plenty of people donate anonymously to all kinds of things, both "charity" and the arts. It might all just be a way of massaging the ego, and you could argue that many of these people are so wealthy that their donations don't represent an actual "cost" to them so there are arguments you could make that it is not really altruism, but meh, it's close enough.

 

[lynchpatrickj]

Originally Posted by chrisjustinparr

When's the last time you did something for another at no benefit to yourself or even at a cost?

I guess true altruism is living so as to account the cost of doing good as insignificant; i.e. not wasting your time overthinking the impact of your attempts to make other people happy. The idea is to be able to make life better for everybody without becoming bitter about whether or not it's "worth it" to you.

That being said:

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by chrisjustinparr

Well who taught you the "reflex"? If it was your culture, doesn't that mean that it is a social convention? If you do it because you see yourself like that, does it mean that you do it so that others can see yourself like that too?

Well whatever. I mean, you break it down to every single component and even go even more everything is just down to self.
your point is more immediate I thought you were referring to like why would you go out of your way to help a friend out with a ride out of your way or someone with some money if you won't see some gain like sex, payback with interest or whatever.
You see, I'm not like that. I do it just because I care for that person. Yeah perhaps I learned that from culture (or better yet parents) that you can manifest that care or love you have through that expression of lending or giving a ride or the proverbial holding a door for someone.
Which is exactly my point...

It is an action from some cause in my life. You got the cause and effect wrong.

 

[Recoil]

Altruism by definition is "true", so if it's not "true altruism" then it's not altruism at all.

 

[Huntsman]

Oh, I am altruistic at times for no reason other than the decency which is a debt to life. I don't expect payback though I've often been told it will "come around" and that I'll be rewarded by karma or whatever. Yeah. I fully expect that I will get screwed a percentage of times, and I do. There are many good aspects to my life and a number of poor ones and I don't correlate any of that to if or how altruistic I may or may not be. Some things may be done in private or in public and I give up worrying what others may think of my motives because most of the time they haven't a clue.

 

[rjakapeanut]

if not for prior school engagements (have finals coming up) i would've volunteered at this local soup kitchen...i didn't get the opportunity though.

i'll do it on christmas day, though.

i don't want anyone to know that i'm doing it and i plan on doing it solely to help out those less fortunate than me, so i guess i count.

 

[indesertum]

I believe Phoebe and Joey once had the same question. Let me quote Ayn Rand for you "Kant’s version of morality . . . consisted of total, abject selflessness. An action is moral, said Kant [not a direct quotation], only if one has no desire to perform it, but performs it out of a sense of duty and derives no benefit from it of any sort, neither material nor spiritual; a benefit destroys the moral value of an action. (Thus, if one has no desire to be evil, one cannot be good; if one has, one can.)" No such thing as what you call "true altruism." It isn't logically (and Ayn and I and all other intelligent philosophers after Kant would say, ethically) correct. However, what the **** is wrong with doing a good deed because it makes you feel good that you are a doing a good deed? Why should you do something if it makes you unhappy, now and in the future? You basically insinuate only an evil person with evil intentions can commit a good deed. reductio ad absurdum. /thread thankyouverymuchandtoallagoodnight.

 

[HedgeFundHotSHot]

Many out there are selfless.

 

[Dakota rube]

Originally Posted by chrisjustinparr

When's the last time you did something for another at no benefit to yourself or even at a cost?

Every single day. I like the idea of random acts of kindness.

Why wouldn't I?