Altruism isn’t just a buzzword being thrown around by psychologists and philosophers in today’s world. If you don’t know the concept, Altruism essentially means that one person cares or shows more concern about the well being of others over their own while expecting nothing in return.
Not to be confused with self sacrifice, that is a different concept. However, let me tell you why Altruism is selfish in nature and why you should not concern yourself with its moral dilemma.
Note before you read on: Philosophical topics can be interpreted different by every individual. That is why, if you have a different opinion about this topic, let me know 🙂
Why Altruism Might Not Be As Selfless As You Think
August Comte, a French philosopher and mathematician popularized the term altruisme, which is the anonym of egoism, which means to only show concern for oneself and no one else. Altruism essentially classifies as actions that benefit the quality of life of others at the cost of one’s own wealth, time or even pleasure.
However, if you were to consider the deepest roots philosophy which predicates itself to finding meaning in the smallest things and observing every detail, then altruism is a selfish act.
Now I know this is surprising but bear with me for a second, many religions in the world have some guarantee of redemption if one is altruistic with their actions. Offering alms to the less fortunate, volunteering, self sacrifice and so on. However, seeing how fast paced and authority centric the newer world has gotten, it is possible to see altruism, by most critical thinkers, as a selfish act.
Man is a social animal and a deeply emotional being. Any action taken to improve social standing or satisfy a feeling is a conscious decision to improve themself in some shape or form. Now, there are two instances in which altruism is selfish, in the social and emotional sense, let us break them down.
The Selfishness Of Altruism In A Social Sense
It is not inherently wrong for a human being to be selfish. A great majority of individuals are taught to be selfless in their early years. The downside to that is they spend their whole lives helping others out of a empathy and benevolence rather than thinking about their own life. That is why a lot of us have problems saying “No” to anything or anyone.
That being said, in a social sense, altruism is selfish. Altruism isn’t “non-profit” for the rich, wealthy or even for people looking to gain something of a social standing. How many times have you seen billionaires or millionaires tweet or post something about a charity on social media just for their fans to talk about how selfless and kind they are for helping the less fortunate?
Let me be clear; this isn’t a jab at a celebrity or any of your heroes. The initiative taken by people to help the less fortunate or for a specific cause is to better their social standing or even raise it depending on who they are. They are doing a great job of making the world a better place. However, they are indirectly making life better for themselves as well.
Engaging in altruistic actions in a social sense might be to improve social standing or to follow suit on the structure laid out by society that define an “ideal member of the community.”
The Selfishness Of Altruism In An Emotional Sense
Suppose your friend calls you up and complains about their life. Convincing them that it is going to be fine might make you think that it is an altruistic action but it isn’t. The conscious act of reassuring them more or less is non-altruistic. See, by this act of assurance, you do not only enforce your social standing with them but also create a dependency for them to you.
Aside from that, in an emotional sense, acts of altruism can be to remove a negative emotion or reinforce a positive one. A person saving someone from an accident can do so because he wants to portray himself a certain one, not always because it’s the right thing to do.
People love to eat up hero stories. Again, I’m not portraying self-sacrifice as a “bad” thing, I’m reinforcing my point, they are two separate things. People portray themselves as altruistic in an emotional sense to:
- Create better bonds
- Enforce emotional attachment
- Control people
- Mask their insecurities
- Avoid guilt and shame
- Seek validation
- Create dependency
In the emotional sense, it is always the above intentions which come into play one performing an altruistic action.
The Verdict: Should Humans Stop Being “Altruistic”?
The answer to that is a resounding “No.” Without altruism, humans wouldn’t be humans. Now I know it is counter-intuitive to accept altruism while denying it’s intended meaning, but this is philosophy, every opinion is worth pondering over.
Besides, without a sense of altruism, we wouldn’t deepen our bonds, share intimate moments with our fellow humans or even know of each other’s existence. So be altruistic, be selfish, be both, the choice is yours.