Altruism
Altruism is the unselfish concern for the welfare of others. That is, one is altruistic if he or she helps another without the expectation of any reward. Without any particular study, I had always assumed that altruism was learned behavior. I assumed that we're born selfish and learn to be unselfish, to share, to care about others. Hence, I was surprised to read of a recent study that appears to demonstrate that children as young as 18 months old are altruistic. In addition, the study appeared to demonstrate that these young children also understand when help is needed and when it isn't. If correct, the study seems to indicate that it's selfishness that must be learned, that demanding rewards for help is learned behavior.
I think about altruism because I wonder if the rewards that inevitably come to the charitable, to the helpful defeat altruism. That is, unless help is given absolutely anonymously there are always the rewards of gratitude, of some measure of applause. And even when help is given anonymously, there is the reward of feeling good about oneself. Is there no such thing as altruism?
I've concluded that doing good is normally its own reward and that this reward is appropriate. Especially now that I understand that altruism may be inborn, I must conclude that the natural feeling that we did the right thing cannot turn a good impulse in something questionable. Now the question I intend to think more about is what do we do to defeat the impulse to be good, how does society turn the desire to help to something else?
Let your natural desire to do good defeat other impulses, be charitable and don't look for any reward other than feeling good about yourself.
3-20-06
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