Altruism is concern for others without benefit or motivation. True altruism is rare as many acts have psychological rewards. Altruism is valued in many cultures and religions, and in biology it can harm individuals but advance the species. Ethical theorists argue for altruism as an imperative for society to survive.
Altruism is an expression of concern for the welfare of others without any obvious benefit or motivation on the part of the individual expressing the concern. It is actually quite difficult to find examples of true altruism in a psychological sense, as many acts that are perceived as altruistic actually carry psychological rewards. In humans, helping others generally results in a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction, suggesting that humans have indeed evolved a biological imperative that drives them to behave altruistically by providing an emotional reward.
When people talk about altruism, however, they usually don’t mean altruism in a biological or psychological sense. They refer to an act of kindness or an expression of concern that does not bring a material benefit. For example, someone who donates money to a charity might be considered altruistic, because he or she doesn’t directly benefit from the act. Conversely, those who build homes for the homeless for school credit are certainly charitable, but not altruistic.
Many cultures view altruism as a positive personality trait, and selfless acts are in fact highly valued. Many religions including Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism and Islam promote altruism among their followers, emphasizing the idea that people are not just if they cannot express selfless concern for others. The ability to help others, even at personal cost, is considered by many people to be an important part of expressing religious faith.
In biology, you may hear people discussing altruism in the sense of an act that may harm an individual, but advances the species or social group. Biologists also speak of reciprocal altruism, which could be better defined as “cooperation”, since it is about helping another organism with the knowledge that the other creature will reciprocate the favor. “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine,” in other words. Organisms that do not cooperate can be punished, by imposing mutually beneficial behaviors, demonstrating that the lack of cooperation has consequences.
Ethical theorists also speak of altruism. In ethics, altruism is often described as an imperative, with some ethicists arguing that for a society to survive, it must be altruistic in nature. For example, some ethicists advocate the use of taxation to raise funds for the purpose of providing health care to all citizens, which benefits low-income members of society more than high-income members of society, while also supporting health of society as a whole.
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