Altruism

–noun

The principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others (opposed to egoism).

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. --Martin Luther King, Jr.

What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal. --Albert Pike


There is no limit to the good a man can do, if he doesn’t care who gets the credit. -- General George C. Marshall


The word altruism has come up in several recent conversations. Since I am a Social Psychology student (and general student of life) I am always intrigued by the actions of people and I want to know more about how they ‘tick’. Altruism is a selfless concern for the welfare of others and is rooted in many cultures and religious traditions. It is not simply a feeling of duty but a genuine motivation to help others without any reward. Duty implies that we have a moral obligation to another whereas altruism is giving without regard or reward OR need for recognition.

The term was coined by a French philosopher of science, Auguste Comte (January 19, 1798-Septemer 5, 1857) who developed the doctrine of positivism. He believed in an ethical doctrine that claims people are morally obliged to help others in need. Psychologists believe that we do good for our children and family simply for the survival of future generations that will hold the same genetic code. Many studies have been done on the subject of altruism and it comes in many forms; one being reciprocal altruism which operates on the laws of reciprocity but I am more interested in pure altruism which is doing something without expected returns.

I think that helping others is a beautiful thing, not because we might need them to return the favor but because it boosts our self-esteem. I prefer to live in a world that makes me smile rather than one that sucks the life out of me! I believe that if we are genuine in our actions then the laws of reciprocity will certainly be in our favor. I don’t say this to encourage acts of kindness in hopes that we will someday get something but because it is the right thing to do! Of course we are going to do good things for our friends and family but what about the person who is having car problems on the side of the freeway in the summer heat or cold of winter? Do you think about stopping to render aid to someone who is in need?

I was in the grocery store the other day and there was a couple ahead of me with a few baskets of groceries. Both of these people were unable to walk unaided so they were in the motorized carts offered by the store. They were obviously bargain shoppers because the gentleman had a list of prices that the checker had to match and manually input into the register. I could easily see that this would take awhile. As the line started to increase behind me I could see that others were getting annoyed by these people taking up so much time. I began to help them by putting their things onto the belt to maybe speed up the process, not for my own rushed agenda but simply to try to help them and shorten the length of time for those waiting behind me.

Personally (this is JUST me!) I don’t go to the grocery store (or shopping in general) if I am in a hurry because you never know what you’re going to encounter. If I have other things on my agenda I avoid any place where I might be delayed because I know that it creates anxiety and it is just plain annoying. I went into the store with the knowledge that it would be busy and I’d be waiting in line, I could tell this by the overflowing parking lot. *I realize that this has NOTHING to do with my subject but I’ll get to the point, just hold on* Back to my story…..this couple obviously needed some assistance and instead of getting annoyed by them I decided to help them. I did NOT do this to get me out of the store faster I did it because they needed a hand, in other words I didn’t do for my own selfish reasons I did it because it was the right thing to do.

NOW, I don’t say this because I need a pat on the back or any type of Atta Girl but to convey the thought that doing the right thing is just a good thing to do. I do not do anything for anyone for my own selfish reasons I do things because I like to see others smile and to take away a little bit of the ugliness in their world. We deal with so much ugliness in the world everyone needs to try to put a little hope back into our fellow man. Of course there are those who live for themselves and that will never change however there are those who do things with unselfish motivations too. I am not saying that we should give away our last dollar or put ourselves into a predicament but I think that when we do random acts of kindness (and it doesn’t have to be huge things) it just gives us a warm fuzzy and makes us feel better in our own mind. I think that when we shift the focus from ourselves we begin to see the good in others.