Altruism And The Bystander Effect

Altruism And The Bystander Effect
Why should students help pick up fellow classmate's books that he or she dropped? Why should
people give to the homeless? Why should humans become organ donors? Altruism is defined as a
person's ability to go out of their way to enhance the welfare of someone else without anything in
return. But it's not the "what" of altruism that is intriguing, it's the "why" that is truly fascinating.
Scientist and researches may never pinpoint what makes humans exhibit altruistic behavior, but
there is one thing that scientist and researches are sure about. Altruism plays an important role in
running society, and the world can use more of it.
Humans are prenatally motivated to help those around us due to its evolutionary benefits that our
species has a better chance of survival if all cooperate. Humans can also be nurtured to exhibit
altruistic behavior through good parenting. Although most of the population agrees that altruism
benefits society, scientific research has shown that even those who believe they are altruistic are not
when they are put in situations which calls for selfless behavior. One phenomena that refutes the
claim that most of the population strives for selfless behavior is known as the bystander effect. The
bystander effect is when a person feels less responsible for doing selfless acts when they are in an
environment of a group of ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This psychological mystery was first documented when a young woman by the name of Kitty
Genovese was stabbed to death in front of apartment buildings in Queens, New York. Although there
were reports of being
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...

The Pros And Cons Of Altruism
Imagine yourself stumbling upon a horrendous scene. A young woman is seen sprawled on the
ground, her face is bloodied and bruised, and her right leg is twisted at a grotesque angle, evidently
broken. What would you do? Obviously, you help. But why would you help? Undoubtedly, you
wanted to alleviate her distress. But why? Helping others in need and having the urge of wanting to
help somebody who is in need is something that happens at least once in everybody's life. It is a
common thing that even animals help one another mutually, though they expect to gain something in
return. But in some circumstances, helping somebody is not connected to receiving immediate
benefits or these are considered non–existent. This prosocial behaviour has caught ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
Numeral studies have shown how individuals would help a family member, relative, or someone
they can mirror themselves with, rather than somebody that they have no relation to or does not have
a connection with. (Rushton, 1991) It is fathomable how helping a family, relative or somebody we
are more attached to is a normal reaction. But it is incomprehensible to explain when humans show
compassion towards complete strangers. This altruistic behaviour seemingly suggests that true
altruism could undeniably exist.
Empathy–Altruism Model argues that altruism does exist and explains why people help others even
though they are not related. The Empathy–Altruism Model, is established on the idea that emotional
response of empathy is produced when an individual is seen to be in need. It could be argued that
the individual feels empathy for the other person who is in need, and being able to feel and take into
consideration of another's feelings, directs the helping behaviour at relieving the person who is in
need and therefore altruism is produced by altruistic reasons . (Cialdini, Brown, Lewis, Luce, &
Neuberg,

Altruism Research Paper
Altruism is defined when people express their feelings and actions to help others in an unselfish
way. Altruism is an important feature of spiritual wellness, which improves health and longevity.
The five health benefits associated with practicing altruism are 1. Better immune system functioning
– the positive feelings reduce the stress, which leads to a healthier immune system that can better
fight other diseases. 2. Pain relief – when a person is feeling positive the brain releasing endorphins
that help to reduce pain. 3. Self–esteem – positive changes that associated with happiness improves
self–confidence. 4. Better social integration, more social support – when people volunteer, they
become a part of a social network and a feeling of purpose. 5. Better ... Show more content on
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Characteristics of an optimist see a more positive event in the future, do not give up, hopes for the
best, and do not blame themselves for failure. Pessimism is a tendency to focus on the negative
outcome. Characteristics of a pessimist are expected and accept failure, denial, and do not see their
personal achievements. The answer to the personal reaction to my life, I see it from a pessimistic
point of view because I do not like to think that something positive will happen and then get
disappointed when it not happens. A recent unfavorable experience in my life is interaction with
property management about the leak in my condominium. The actual reaction was not pleasant
because it ended up me screaming when they tried to find an excuse not to fix the problem. My
negative self–talk was that she is refusing to repair the problem because I speak with an accent;
therefore, I am probably an idiot. A better reaction would be if I stayed calmly and persistently tried
to explain the problem because I would not be as stressed, my self–confidence would be higher, and
I would achieve the same result, for them coming and fixing the

Altruism: The Case Of The Honey Bee
Humanitarianism, benevolence, selflessness, kindness are words synonymous to Altruism; but what
is altruism, how did it evolve, is it an innate human attribute, is it a learnt behavior or is it an integral
part of religious practices. Altruism is the act of putting the needs of another being before yours.
Some may even define it as sacrificing one's self for the greater good of a species.
How has natural selection produced altruism? Altruism through natural selection has, over the years
been under the microscope has we aim to find the true nature and origins of altruism. Natural
selection was coined by Charles Darwin and it was his belief that only the fittest of all species would
survive. Natural selection has produced altruism in the cases of insects such as the honey pot ants
that work as larders where they store food from the workers for other ants. This is considered
altruism as these ants are sacrificing their normal habitats to ensure that there is always enough food
in storage. The case of the honey bee is similar as the honey pot where the the worker bee forgoes
reproduction in order to take care of its siblings.
What are the three forms of altruism? Explain.
The three major form of altruism are as follows :
Nepotistic Altruism
This type of altruism is based on family. If you have a child, you'll work hard every ... Show more
Is it an innate human attribute? Is it learnt behavior or is a requisite based on religion? George Price
was maybe an altruistic person based on his employment history but his viewpoint after he went to
live in England was purely fueled by his religious beliefs. This is a form of psychological altruism
as this portrayed self interest. He wanted to be viewed as a Christ like as the Bible suggests that
Christians were created like their eternal father. With this being revealed, one still questions the
origins of this all important human

Altruism Is Unique In The World Of Animals
Altruism is the practice of selfless concern for the well–being of others, or the behavior of an animal
that benefits another at its own expense. Evidence shows that the act of altruism is unique in the
world of animals. The interaction between those who are selfish and those who are altruistic is vital
to human cooperation. A small group of altruistic people can give enough motivation to a large
number of egotistical to move a mountain. Just as a large number of selfish people could push a
small group of charitable people to change the world. It is the interaction between both that make
this world go around (Nature). The world we live in is a big machine, and those who help others are
the ones who keep it running effectively. People who ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Survival of the fittest is a concept that is widely known across the idea of evolution. The study done
by Haldane concluded that genetic altruism would show some advances in population numbers,
which is overall increasing the spread of genes. The increased number of altruistic individuals in the
society would overall increase the group fitness, or number of genes spread due to the group
benefitting behavior. Altruism can be known for the cause of all charitable behavior, but there is the
argument that all charity is directly tied in with egoism. This happens when a person taking part in
the charity helps with the idea that someday his own self will be in need of the same charity. This
concludes that all altruistic events make just be a part of a long cycle of egoism. If so, then altruistic
people are essentially just an egoist in a twisted way. The world overall is a selfish, conceit place.
Some say that charitable work, also known as altruistic behavior is all part of a social contract. If the
egoist breaks the contract in any way, then there is a change that another person in the future will
also break the contract. Maybe that time the contract is broken it will be the egoist who needs the
help and will not receive it. It is all a vicious cycle that ends up revolving around one 's own self
interests (Hammond 115–116). Altruism can be a concept of both social and moral psychology. In
Medicine, it is currently argued

Altruism In The Crucible By Henry Perowne
Altruism is a staple part of the Theory of Mind. It involves being capable of putting yourself in
another individual's shoes, sympathizing or acknowledging how they ended up where they are.
Perowne tends to have a basic understanding and acceptance of altruism. He feels for the street
sweeper because he, himself, is of a higher class than this man, he is in a position of control.
However, this does not lead Perowne to act to help the street sweeper, he instead acknowledges their
differences and then pities him because of his hard work, that amounts to nothing: as he moves up
the street cleaning it well, the street behind him that he just finished piles up with garbage again.
This scene does not lead readers to view atheism as an accurate outlet for morality, if it was
Perowne would have stepped in and helped ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Perowne realizes that he is in a palce in his life due the repetition of his own life, his parents were
well rounded adults, they promoted cleanliness and education. Which allowed Henry Perowne to
excel in his life. Along with this he realizes that the street sweeper and others alike them are in this
place due to one thing leading to another. He may have been raised in a not well–off family, or
maybe he is the slight variation within the family– maybe the rest of his family is extremely
successful whilst he maintains as a street sweeper. Perowne can acknowledge these differences in
environments, he is willing to put himself in the street sweepers shoes, and feel his underwhelming
success, however, he ultimately acknowledges that it is not his place. It is an individual own
responsibility to live their life as they choose, whether it be happiness or despair. He also realizes
that maybe the street sweeper is content with his work. Ultimately it is not a person's responsibility
to act on another person's

Egoism Vs Altruism
Humans view helping others as the right thing to do, even when it is against their best interest. This
raises the question; is altruism a part of human nature? If so, then is it really out of the goodness of
one's heart, or from thinking about what one could gain from it? Egoism and Altruism are opposites,
yet the lines between them are not very clear when looking at one's own morals. There must be
some kind of difference from a natural way of helping others before ourselves and an artificial,
outcome–based way of doing what one believes will be best for them.
Webster's Dictionary defines altruism as "feelings and behavior that show a desire to help other
people and a lack of selfishness." An altruist would go out of their way to help others, although there
may be more basic feelings that would make one act this way. Robert Prentice, a professor at the
McCombs School of Business, talks in a blog post that shame and guilt do a great deal in guiding
one's moral actions. But he also says that, "Empathy appears to be the key ... Show more content on
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Our brains automatically think of ourselves first and fail to realize any troubles other people may be
experiencing. To him, being empathetic of others' concerns, "takes will and mental effort, and if you
are like [him], some days you won't be able to do it, or you just flat–out won't want to." Empathy,
and thus altruism, is not a natural tendency, but one that grows from a person consciously thinking
about others. Humans have found empathy to be a coping mechanism for the daily grind of real life,
and thus strive towards it. People who have felt more pain and suffered more hardships are thus
more likely to be altruistic, as they can better emphasize with the struggles of others. They both
understand the pain, and know that by helping others, they are helping their own pain as

The Positive And Negative Effects Of Altruism
Suppose a reader is reading a mystery novel and he is close to completing the book; however, it is
very late at night and he has to wake up early the next morning. He has two options: he can finish
the book, fulfill his desire to know who killed the victim, and not get the proper amount of sleep he
needs, or he can go to sleep, receive plenty of rest, feel refreshed the next morning, and wait until
that evening to finish the novel. He would be altruistic to his body and his health if he went to bed
early; however, he would be selfish to his body if he stayed up and finished the novel (Le Morvan).
Altruism, which has both positive and negative effects, is a controversial character trait; however, it
ultimately promotes compassion for the human race and help for the ecosystem.
In a world where altruism exists, selfishness exists as well (Le Morvan). Selfishness is when a
person puts his or her interests before other people's interests, and altruism is when a person puts
other people's interests before his or her own interests (Le Morvan). Martin Luther King believed
with all of his heart and soul that "every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of
creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness" (Soosai–Nathan). People have a
choice to help others or to help themselves, and their decisions can either be helpful or destructive,
altruistic or selfish. According to numerous studies, different environmental and circumstantial
factors affect how a

Difference Between Altruism And Altruism
INTRODUCTION
Our generation today focuses much more on personal gain, prioritizing themselves for pleasure and
self–enjoyment. We are in a generation where good name is no more preferred or precious than gold,
rather, money is a good name and more precious than a good one, where love for one self, vanity,
and giving importance on earthly things counts as a way of having success by pursuing what is best
for us and for our loved ones. The Me Generation only shows that people give so much gratitude
and admiration to themselves, and that their concentration is self–centered and egoistic. This kind of
attitude leads people to care less about the social, political, economic and environmental aspects of
our lives. Today's generation focuses on acquiring worldly things by having so much money, power,
and fame, whereas the idea of having concern with other people in the society is starting to
disappear. The 'I' syndrome is placing ourselves before others; a situation whereby people seek their
own interests and needs to satisfy themselves, families, relatives and those close to them first before
others. Regardless of the fact that there are people that are into the 'I' syndrome, there still exists an
act of being concerned about other people's happiness called 'Altruism'. Altruism, in contrast with
the 'I' syndrome, is an unselfish concern for other ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This behavior refers to any action that benefits other people, no matter what the motive or how the
giver benefits from the action. By that, we could say that altruistic acts are pro–social. However,
pure altruism consists of true selflessness and that, not all pro–social acts are fully altruistic.
Perhaps, this is the reason why some people could not set apart altruism from egoism. Pure and
absolute altruism can be found once a person fully recognizes a selfless act from an act that is self–
beneficial and

Could Altruism Be Evil?
o Could Ayn Rand be right? Could altruism be evil? There are some cases which show that altruism
could be a bad thing sometimes. An example of extreme altruism is Peter Singer's ethical ideals.
Singer went to the extremes with altruism. He stated that one ought to give to the point of marginal
utility which he described as giving to the point where one would cause oneself and one's
dependents equal suffering as they would prevent. Although Singer went to the extreme, altruism
does not have to go that far. There is also moderate altruism which takes the interest of others and
oneself into consideration. Also, even though Singer was too extreme, this does not mean that he is
"evil." o Could society exist without altruism? Society could not exist ... Show more content on
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A libertarian society would surely fail. An example given in class is of two neighbors. Joe lived on
the top of the hill and Josh lived at the bottom of the hill. There is a stream that Joe and Josh both
have by their houses. Joe wants to urinate in the stream and throw his trash in it. It is the easiest
thing for Joe to do. Without altruism there is no reason for Joe to not throw his trash and sewage in
the stream. After all, they do live an hour from the nearest dump. If he is merely selfish there is no
reason for him to care about how his actions affect Josh or anyone else in the lower elevation. If
everyone behaved as Joe there would have to be more government regulation. If there was no
government control and no altruism, there would not be clean water. Ayn Rand's ideas for society
seem to contradict how she thought people ought to live. Ayn Rand supported an unfettered and
unregulated free market economy, but she thought that people should be selfish and not be altruistic.
As discussed in the previous essay, society would not be better off if everyone was selfish. If
everyone behaved in a way only to benefit one's self and had the freedom to do so, society would
collapse. Water would be undrinkable, belongings would be stolen and the weak would surely die of
things that were

Does Effective Altruism Matter?
It is not a matter of who is responsible, but rather who is willing. Growing up in the church, I have
learned that the size of the donation does not matter; it is the heart that gives. The article states that
"effective altruism is not a plot to guilt the rich into asceticism," an extreme rejection of worldly
things, but rather maximize altruist efforts. Effective altruism does not designate any group
responsible, but rather creates a mindset to inspire all economic classes to maximize their good. For
example, the "1 percent rule" encourages the middle class – individuals whose income is greater
than $52,000 a year – to donate 1% of their income to double the happiness of someone who makes
equivalent to that 1%. Effective altruism also encourages

Altruism In Species
Today, the world is broken up into individual communities, where different cultures practice
different behaviors. Additionally, there are many different types of communities embedded in this
world, some of which rely on competition and individual ambition for success, and some that are
more communal and support the idea of putting the group before yourself. So why is altruism a
universal behavior? The concept of altruism in species has become one the most controversial
scientific subjects since the first hypothesis was made on species behavior. Some scientists believe
that there is a genetic and evolutionary component that drives species to behave altruistically, and
others believe it is simply an unexplainable phenomenon. Throughout the ... Show more content on
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Furthermore, both Humans and these small primates practice cooperative responsibility for their
young, and this lead some scientists to believe that this cooperation was responsible for altruistic
behaviors. Therefore, a group of researchers from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy and Great
Britain were lead by anthropologist Judith Burkart who developed a new model of group service in
which they were able to study spontaneous selfless behavior that is consistent with more types of
primates. The researcher's study was done to see if individuals from a certain primate species were
willing to provide other group members with a treat, even if that meant they would not get one.
They tested twenty–four groups of fifteen different species of primates. The second part of the study
tested if 4–7 year olds acted altruistically. As expected, the researchers found that the propensity to
care for others outside of your own genetically related family greatly varied between each of the
primate species. More surprisingly, both humans and callitrichid monkeys consistently provided the
other group with their treat and therefore acted the most altruistic; however, what caught the
researchers attention was that when they studied the chimpanzees, a close relative to humans, they
very rarely behaved selflessly, as did most of the other primate species like the capuchins and
macaques groups, even though they are regarded as having high cognitive skills. Before the study
was conducted, the researchers assumed that altruistic behavior demonstrated by primates could be
ascribed to characteristics they share with humans, like strong social bonds, high cognitive skills,
large brains, and high social tolerance; however, Burkart's research shows that sharing these
qualities does not in fact predict how altruistic a species will behave. Nevertheless,

Altruism
"True altruism does not exist". Discuss with reference to psychological theory and research.
Many have defined altruism in a similar context, a special form of helping behaviour that is "an act
that is motivated by the desire to benefit another individual rather than oneself" (Hogg &Vaughan,
2008). An altruistic act does not necessarily have a negative or zero value to the actor (Margolis,
1982) but a true altruistic act is detrimental to the actor's fitness and enhances another individual's
fitness, in other words, a selfless act (Batson, 1991). Throughout the evolution of altruism, there
have been many controversies about the existence of true altruism. Most theories have argued that it
stems from ulterior motives, but does that prove ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Another motive of altruism to gain indirect returns is the egoistic motives. It is suggested by
Mandeville (1732), where a person who is in a situation that causes personal distress would behave
altruistically to relieve that particular distress.
Although theories that suggest the non–existence of true altruism may be persuasive, it does not
explain the reasons for selfless deeds done by famous figures for their love and services to people
such as Mother Teresa. Batson (1991) suggested a hypothesis and feels that some people are
genuinely concerned about other people's welfare. According to his empathy–altruism hypothesis,
empathic concerns produce altruism motivation and relieving their sufferings is the main priority.
This hypothesis is supported by several experiments where participants are typically given an
opportunity to help those in need for whom they have been led to different levels of empathic
concerns.
Also, recent news has reported that chimpanzees (Choi, 2007) and toddlers (China Daily, 2006)
have shown true altruistic behaviour.
In conclusion, the existence of altruism has yet to be proven but that does not mean it does not exist.
More research has to be done in this field to explain about other cases to prove its existence.
References
Batson, C. D. (1991). The Altruism Question: Toward a Social–Psychological Answer. Hillsdale, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum.
China Daily (2006). Experiment finds that

Analysis of Real Altruism Essay
Helping someone in need or getting the feeling of wanting to help someone in need is something
that happens in everyone's life. It is a common thought that animals help each other expecting to
gain something in return. But in some cases, helping is not linked to immediate returning benefits or
these are inexistent. This type of behavior has caught the attention of psychologists interested in
understanding the ideas and thoughts behind it. Can this be considered real altruism? Psychologists
have been studying this issue suggesting different ideas to explain altruistic behavior. This essay will
talk about altruism and some of the real ideas over the thinking that altruistic behavior comes from
real altruistic ideas, helping with the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Evolutionary psychologists like Rushton (1991) argue how altruism is part of evolution that
originates from genetic purposes. Most studies show that people would rather help a relative or a
friend that they have known for a long time instead of someone they are not related or don't have a
connection too. It is understandable that helping a relative or someone we have known for a while
could be a normal thing and bring us benefit in some way, but it is hard to explain when people and
animals show compassion for complete strangers. This apparent altruistic behavior suggests that real
altruism does exist. To study this opinion some tried to look at the emotions and cognitive things
that were happening to the person before they were helping this person. Piliavin, 1981, as cited in
Hogg and Vaughan, 2008, suggested that the act of not helping someone in need could result in
costing the people around them. These could be either an emphatic or of a personal nature. That is,
the person helping someone may feel bad if choosing not to help someone. They did a study on three
cognitive areas a person standing there goes through before knowing or thinking what the outcome
may be from helping that person. First the person suffers from physiological arousal, which means
to feel distressful or uncomfortable in the troubles of that person. Secondly, the person around this
person needs to deal with this feeling. As explained by Vaughan and Hogg, this feeling alone

Observation Of Altruism
An Observational Study: Altruism and Door Holding among College Students
The purpose of this observational study is to observe door holding behaviors of both college aged
men and woman to determine their level of altruism, and whether these patterns are motivated
through altruism selflessly or selfishly. "Altruism is defined as motivation with the ultimate goal of
increasing the welfare of one or more individuals other than oneself." (Batson, Ahmad, &Tsang,
2002) Batson is known for his altruistic experiments in which a person was aided by an individual,
and the characteristics and the conditions of that person was recorded. Batson is a social
psychologist who believes that altruism is indeed how he defined it, a selfless act. There are two
sides when it comes to the study of altruism one pertains to selflessness (Batson) while others
believe altruism is selfishly motivated like Neuberg. Neuberg, ... Show more content on
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I went to Expresso Royale on South University from 9am–11 am (morning rush), Chipotle on South
State St. 12–3pm (lunch rush), and The Duderstadt Center on North Campus from 7pm–10pm (late
night/study hours). In Expresso Royale I sat at the second booth on the right facing the door. In
Chipotle I sat at the high circle table facing the "in" doors, and at The Duderstadt Center I sat at the
1st table on the left in the café area on the first floor facing the Walgreen Drama Center. At each
location I remained inconspicuous because I looked as if I was doing homework and appeared to be
thinking as I glanced up and witnessed the door holding. I used a tally sheet and each location had a
separate one. I would make sure they fit the criteria for whichever gender, then write M or W (man
or woman) and then 1, 2, or 3 depending on how the person held the door. I had no second

Is Altruism Exist
Altruism could be defined as a moral tenet which dictates that individuals have an ethical
responsibility to help or benefit others, even at the sacrifice of one's own self interest, if required.
Altruism as a word is originally derived from the Italian word 'alturi', which in turn was derived
from the Latin word 'alteri', meaning "other people" (Ciciloni, 1838). In simple terms, altruism is the
concept of concern and care for the well–being of others and the presence of a continuous desire to
help them. However, it has been mystifying philosophers and scientists for centuries as it is
understood and explained differently in terms of sociology, neurobiology, and religion, although
there is a common denominator between the three principles as they all highlight certain human
nature act or a typical social behavior among humans. There is a myriad of studies and concrete
proof within the confines of the realms of the principles I mentioned above which give grounds for
the idea that true altruism does not exist.
First, altruism has been continuously discussed in sociology as Auguste Comte, who is often
regarded as the founder of modern sociology, is sometimes credited with originating the concept of
Altruism. To begin, Sociobiologists argue that "altruistic behavior has its roots in self–interest, the
unconscious desire to protect one's genetic heritage" (sociologyindex, nd). ... Show more content on
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But it is becoming more evident that genuine altruism does not really exist, thanks to several
elements such as the kin selection theory, the recent understanding of specific areas of our brain
which relates directly to giving people and also the religious aspect of the issue. In a word, a good
deal of evidence and proof which exists within the domains of sociology, neurobiology and religion
attests that true altruism does not

Kantianism And Altruism
Charity. Philanthropy. Altruism. These three words ultimately point to the single, ultimate goal: "to
help". In fact, charitable giving is the act of donating money to a certain cause, so that more people
are "helped" overall. However, many organizations, such as the federal government, offer tax
reductions while other organizations offer other perks for charitable giving. Some see incentives to
charity as demeaning the virtue of "selfless giving," yet these critics lose sight of the actual goal of
charity: to help other people in its cause. Charity is not to allow people to think that they are more
"moral," but it's for the people instead. Incentivising charitable giving is not only just, but it is also
warranted for the final goal of assisting as many people as possible. From my observations, I first
look towards the increasing socioeconomic gap between the upper and the lower class. Indeed,
many wealthy people such as Bill Gates ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In fact, incentivizing charity is morally sound in the two most major moral frameworks of
Kantianism and Utilitarianism. First, Jeremy Bentham wrote many papers describing the philosophy
of utility, where an action is just if it does the most good to the most amount of people. In bringing
incentives, we not only help more people for a cause, but we can all many who want to give
charitably a chance to do so by offsetting the cost. Under Kantianism, Immanuel Kant also states
that although charitable giving is itself virtuous, no one has a full obligation to another human being.
Beliweving so would then follow a radical, Marxist social argument. Essentially, giving a reward to
a person who gives up his or her own belongings which was unobligated to be given in the first
place is just in an of itself. In these two, usually opposing moral frameworks, incentivizing charity is
both just in each

Altruism : Is The Good? Us? Altruism?
Altruism: The Good In Us Altruism, a trait only some possess, but many strive for. There is more
than one definition for the word though all seem to have the same bases that it is the unselfish
concern for the well–being of others. Various individuals perform positive deeds to aid and assist
others; however, psychologists who have studied the altruistic trait have inconclusive evidence
regarding the idea of "true altruism" and what role selfish motives function within a "selfless" trait.
As one article states, "The truly altruistic act is the virtuous act and the virtuous act is, always, the
rational act" (Burton 2012). The argument however is whether or not altruism could ever truly be
unselfish; there are many health and other benefits ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This being said, psychologists do not necessarily believe that every time a person does something
generous they don't have anything but the best intentions; this only means that individuals do get a
type of reinforcement for their behavior, even if it is just the momentary feeling of greatness from
helping others. Saying that there is no such thing as 'true altruism' some individuals feel is slightly
harsh however, because humans like to believe they can be truly selfless when desired.
Theorist Perspective The Five Factor Model by Costa and McCrae shows a clear connection to
altruism. The category Agreeableness focuses on kindness, generosity, helpfulness, and an
individual's ability to cooperate with others a person is; which by definition is altruism. The Costa
and McCrae Five Factor Model consisting of five categories, Openness, Contentiousness,
Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism, and is one of the most widely known and used
personality measurement tools used by psychologists worldwide. From this model we are able to
measure the five major aspects of someone's personality. Someone who is high in agreeableness will
be compassionate, considerate, and sympathetic and those low in agreeableness typically possess
traits such that make them seem unsympathetic and aloof. Being extremely high in agreeableness
however, is not necessarily superior. Being kind and generous to everyone will sometimes mean

Diffusion Of Altruism Essay
This paper looks at the theories relevant to the diffusion of prosocial behavior as it spreads through
social media. Altruism is delineated from other types of prosocial behavior because it is directly
related to empathy. The two theories of motivation for prosocial behavior are the Empathy–Altruism
Hypothesis and Social Exchange Theory. These two motivational states outline the paradox of
altruism, which infers that selfless behavior can provide benefits to those engaging in it. When
looking at the chasm in the Diffusion of Innovation, presented by Everett Rogers, these theories can
be applied in order to accelerate the diffusion across the chasm. Messages that elicit empathic
responses should target the innovators and early adopters. This ... Show more content on
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The first opinion lies in the Empathy–Altruism Hypothesis. This hypothesis, created by Daniel
Batson, studies altruistic behaviors and links their production to empathic concern for others
(Batson, 2011). Batson (2011) would argue that prosocial behavior can be elicited from "empathic
concern," whereas others have argued there are only self–serving processes at work. The alternate
opinion comes from Social Exchange Theory, which applies economic principles to social
relationships (Miller, 2013). As Shari Miller describes in her article from the Salem Press
Encyclopedia, social exchanges happen because people make choices that create maximum benefits
and minimize personal disadvantages (Miller, 2013). When this theory is applied to prosocial
behavior as its primary motivation, the actions can quickly be reduced to social behavior instead.
The reductionist approach of Social Exchange spins the motivations for any social behavior as
purely self–serving. While this may be true of some surface level prosocial behavior, there is still the
observation that it can be selflessly motivated. Empathy generated altruism falls directly opposite of
reward seeking prosocial behaviors. These two concepts create a polarization in motivational states.
The "altruism paradox," is defined in the Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health as the difference
between prosocial behavior that is self–serving and prosocial behavior that is

Altruism VS The Selfish Gene Essay
Would you give a penny to the needy? How about a kidney? A heart?
The thought of spring break brings up images of partying in warm weather, drunken one–night
stands, and the raging hangovers that follow; yet for Rachel Garneau, a junior at Notre–Dame, it
represented an pseudo–holiday opportunity for giving, and give she did. This twenty year old gave
up a kidney for a complete stranger. There was an air of psychosis to her as she walked right into the
University Of Chicago's Bernard Mitchell Hospital, calm as ever; her demeanor quite indifferent,
her nonchalance quite unnerving. Funny how we find this act of complete altruism 'weird'; because
it is weird, all that we know from evolution, Darwinism, basic human tendencies, and even the ...
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Studies conducted on the early developmental egalitarianism and parochialism in children show that
other–regarding factors are, to some extend, exist as inherent tendencies in all humans: when
allowed to choose between how candy is distributed among an anonymous partner and themselves,
the children chose to be heavily selfless in their distribution. As Fehr et al. come to this startling
conclusion in their paper "Egalitarianism in young children", we see how proper upbringing and
cultural norms are not solely responsible for our altruistic nature. We have evolved to take others
into consideration in our choices; we have evolved a 'heart'.
The innateness of these 'selfless' tendencies is exemplified by the close study of our primitive
ancestors. Frans de Waal, professor of psychology at Emory University, studied the habit of the
greater apes. In his work "Homo homini lupus? Morality, the Social Instincts, and our Fellow
Primates", deWaal talks about the surprising altruism we see in nature. Adult chimpanzees
consolidate each other after a fight; questioning all we know about how the wild is a cutthroat
struggle for survival.
The most striking evidence was that of the lesser–evolved Capuchins. In an experiment to test
altruism in the very basic human precursors, deWaal separated two Capuchian monkeys, Vulcan and
Vergil, giving one the

The Search For Altruism
Citadel High School
Mathematics SL
The Search for Altruism
Alina Chen
002937–0110
(Examinations) May 2015
Introduction
Kindness is the one notion that can be understood throughout time and across all cultures and
languages. To be altruistic in the modern–day world is to show selfless concern for the welfare of
others. Many consider such a characteristic to be immeasurable, but leaps in science and math have
begun to show otherwise. This was really intriguing, as I had never even considered the possibility
of developing a mathematical basis for altruism. As my CAS project, I founded a Random Acts of
Kindness club to promote giving in my school and local community. The idea of being able to ...
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The players' choices are interrelated, so the outcome depends on both parties involved (Myerson).
This theory can be applied in a public goods experiment that dealt with a situation of making
decisions for either self or group interest. In the study, participants were placed into groups of four
and each given 20 money units (MUs). They had the choice of contributing between 0 to 20 MUs to
the group for a specified number of rounds. Their choice was only revealed to the other members of
the experiment after everyone has chosen at the end of each round (Fowler and Nicholas).
For the purpose of this paper, I will present a simplified version of this experiment modified for two
participants to show the logic behind game theory, which will determine the supposed outcome of
the experiment. The basic model serves the general purpose of demonstrating how the most
beneficial scenario is to always look out for one's own interests. In this case, the players have two
choices; donate their money, which would take away from their own pleasure, or keep it. Suppose
both are male participants. Each is assigned 1 monetary unit (MU) for the one–turn game;
If both participants keep their money, each ends up with his original amount (1MU). If only one
participant donates, he loses everything (0 MU). On the other hand, the other

Advantages Of Effective Altruism
915397384
Word Count: 1500–1600
Assignment 2
How would you characterize effective altruism? Are there good reasons to support this view?
I characterize effective altruism as planning and strategizing on how to do good for the world. This
can be done through a career, political advocacy, or charitable giving. This contrasts with how
people usually do good acts for the world, which, according to Matthews, is donating to a charity
whenever we feel like it, many times on a whim to make ourselves feel good, but not doing it as a
calculated measure to move towards solving a problem. They do not take the time to research the
data and develop a strategy to solve the problem.
There are good reasons to support effective altruism. It is a very strong viewpoint that can save lives
because of how strategic and focused it is. For example, GiveWell is a charity that is considered the
origin of effective altruism. It uses evidence with philanthropy instead of just donating to feel good.
They have been "forward–thinking on factory farming" which means that they were serious about
animal suffering without doing sappy, emotional guilty "PETA–style" work (Matthews). As a result,
their thinking has helped to save lives. Nick Cooney, who is the director of education for Mercy for
Animals, said that "corporate campaigns for better treatment of farm animals" could be effective
(Matthews). The Humane League managed to convince corporate food service companies, which
are the ones that source cafeterias, food courts, and other similar places, to never use eggs from
chickens that were in tortured in cages. This effective altruistic move helped to save 5 million
animal lives in a year and it only cost less than 2 cents per animal.
This also helped Walmart and Starbucks to stop using pigs from farms that use gestation crates. This
makes it very difficult for pregnant pigs to walk around, and this only cost 5 cents for each animal
spared–the total was 18 million. In total, the Humane Society of the United States saved 40 million
animals at 40 cents each.
Effective altruism is a very powerful movement that can change philanthropy and be a model for
rigorous, organized advocacy.
According to "existential risk obsessives," why should

Altruism Community Service
Houhua chen
M Butler
English 95
08/02/2015
Altruism and Community Service
Altruism is generally understood as performing an act that benefits others at a personal cost. This
means that altruism involves sacrifice. Altruism, however, is not only a physical act, but an
emotional undertaking. An emotional undertaking means that altruism is a state of being. Altruism
draws intense philosophical, psychological, and socio–political arguments. In as much as most
people prefer the benefits that altruism grants to the society, they are wary of its moral foundations.
Notably, most famous people in history have essentially performed given altruistic acts that
benefitted their societies. It is arguable that altruism provides significant benefits both ... Show more
Research has shown that certain altruistic acts emanate from personal defects (McCullough,
Kimeldorf, & Cohen 283). An individual who cannot attain satisfaction at the individual level, thus,
lives one's life at the societal level (Seelig & Dobelle 4). The act of empathizing and helping
someone usually shows humanity at its ultimate level. It provides the distinction between human
beings and other animals that merely live on their instincts. Altruism involves a sense of growth and
nurture to the person who commits the act. This correlates with the studies that proved that the mere
act of parenting accords satisfaction to the parent. A person who extends one's energies into other
people's lives enjoys the platform of watching something other than oneself

Altruism : Pro-Social Behavior And Altruism
Pro–social behaviour and altruism is theoretically an integral part and way of life in my society and
cultural background. It is both cultural and religious, with more literary information preached to that
effect. If pro–social behaviour is limited to "obeying the rules and conforming to socially accepted
behaviours (such as stopping at a "Stop" sign or paying for groceries)" (.Wikipoedia, 2017), then we
are in a more complex system characterised by where you find yourself at any given moment.
People from my anglosaxon background are known to be very prosocial as oppose to those from our
francophone sub–culture in culture. It is easy to get insulted along the streets, taxi or market place
by people you merely asked them for directives. When I found myself in Douala for the first time, I
felt so terrible when I got into a shop and the reception was busy painting her nails, with no
attention, and later reacted to be by saying 'Je t'ecoute', which ;literally means, 'I am listening' .I
simply walked out on her.
Altruism is what I can what is very difficult to describe of fully isolate in my social community. This
is because it is hard to know if the acts that appear to be selfless are really aimed at making the
benefiting person happy of is done with reciprocity intentions. I have been embarrassed when I see
politicians return to the villages and pay a once in a lifetime visit to an orphanage simply because
elections are around the corner. I have always boycotted their rallies

Essay on Altruism
Why do we show altruism? Social and evolutionary biologists, psychologists, economists and
philosophers alike have made many attempts at providing an explanation for altruism. As a result,
many opposing theories have developed over the years. In this essay, I will attempt to explain
altruism as the presence of an altruistic gene which is selected for by natural selection in terms of
kin selection. I will explore evidence supporting this theory, as well as evidence pointing to
psychological explanations such as reciprocal altruism, social norms and primitive sympathy.
First, it is important to understand what altruism is. Altruism is any act carried out by an individual
in order to benefit another individual. [1, 2] At first glance, ... Show more content on
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Nevertheless, one recent study suggests that genetic differences between our ancestors could have
resulted in lethal intergroup competition which disfavoured non–altruists [6]. I will attempt to link
this theory to what is known as kin selection. Kin selection explains altruism as an act increasing the
probability of an individual's genes being transmitted to the next generation. [3] We share half of our
genes our siblings and parents, and a quarter with cousins, nephews and nieces. [1, 2] Therefore,
altruistic behaviour towards these individuals would result in our genes passing on due to their
higher probability of survival. This is known as increasing one's inclusive fitness. [7] Since early
human societies included members genetically related to one another, [6] kin selection between
these individuals resulted in the societies growing in size. Thus, societies genetically predisposed in
displaying co–operative, altruistic behaviour towards each other (through acts such as group
hunting, mutually defending each other, and sharing food) are more capable of surviving, resulting
in the altruistic gene surviving.[1] This, I believe, is the predominant explanation for altruism in
humans today. The act of altruism is a genetic inheritance evolving through the basic instinct of
survival and continuity of species.
Other theorists however,

Egoism, Psychological And Ethical, And Altruism
From the moment you are born, you are being influenced. Influenced on what to wear, how to do
your hair, how to speak, whom to associate with, etc. All of these criteria make up who you are.
These influences determine how you think and what you believe. With all these influences in our
daily lives we inevitably do actions throughout the day, and our actions have consequences. Some
consequences are good and some are bad, but based on our actions are there ulterior motives
involved? Do we do things to solely benefit ourselves or do we sometimes do things to help out
others and the greater good of mankind? These questions bring to the surface the topics of egoism,
psychological and ethical, and altruism. Egoism in general means that people think of their own
advantage. They have high opinions of themselves and dote on themselves. Meaning they live and
breathe off of self–praise. Most of the time this word has a negative connotation to it, and it is
looked down upon (Flynn 459). Egoism falls into two categories: psychological and ethical. The
term psychological egoism refers to the mindset that there is no such thing as a self–less act. For
example, if someone does a good deed, they have a hidden motive behind their deed. Whether they
want attention, praise, or accolades from performing the deed, they did not do it just to help
someone out (Rosenstand 164). As human beings our nature is to be selfish, and there is no way
around it. We are innately selfish, always have and

Altruism : A Concept Of Altruism
Concept: Altruism Altruism derives from the French word autrui, meaning "other people". The
simple definition: feelings and behavior that show a desire to help other people. The full definition:
unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others. (Merriam Webster Dictionary). People are
willing to help others in times of need when a disaster happens regardless to their circumstances.
This shows the heart of individuals toward others survival and recovery.
Purpose of Concept Analysis The purpose of this concept, is to improve a concept analysis of
altruism to observe the characteristics and attributes of the concept according to the eight steps of
Walker & Avant's method. In this analysis of the concept of altruism, I will identify critical attributes
of the Walker & Avant's method.
Uses of the Concept
The term altruism was coined, in French (altruisme), by Auguste Comte (1798–1857) in the first
volume of his Système de politique positive (1851–1854; System of positive polity). The first uses
in English followed in the 1850s and 1860s in works by British thinkers sympathetic to Comte,
including George Eliot, G. H. Lewes, and John Stuart Mill (see Dixon, 2005). In the Comtean
system, "altruism" stood for the totality of other–regarding sentiments. (Thomas, 2005)
The concept of Altruism is the thread that ultimately holds many lives, families and communities
together. In this concept analysis of altruism, it will demonstration how people's values lie in
assisting in

What Is Altruism?
What is Altruism?
Altruism is a high–level complex word that not everyone may truly understand. Altruism occurs
when someone acts to promote someone else, even at a risk or cost to himself or herself. It is a
traditional virtue in many cultures and a core aspect of various religious traditions and secular
worldviews, though the concept of "others" toward whom concern should be directed can vary
among cultures and religions. Altruism or selflessness is the opposite of selfishness. The word was
coined by the French philosopher Auguste Comte in French, as altruisme, for an antonym of egoism.
He derived it from the Italian altrui, which in turn was derived from Latin alteri, meaning "other
people" or "somebody else". Altruism in biological organisms can be defined as an individual
performing an action, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Altruistic acts benefit, either directly or indirectly, another third–party individual, without the
expectation of reciprocity or compensation for that action. A suggested definition for altruism in the
clinical setting is the intentional and voluntary actions that aim to enhance the welfare of another
person in the absence of any external rewards. Altruism can be distinguished from feelings of
loyalty, in that whilst the latter is predicated upon social relationships, altruism does not consider
relationships. Much debate exists as to whether "true" altruism is possible in human psychology.
The theory of psychological egoism suggests that no act of sharing, helping, or sacrificing can be
described as truly altruistic, as the actor may receive an intrinsic reward in the form of personal
gratification. The validity of this argument depends on whether intrinsic rewards qualify as
"benefits". The actor also may not be expecting a reward. The term altruism may also refer to an
ethical doctrine that claims that individuals are morally obliged to benefit others. Used in this sense,
it is usually contrasted with egoism, which is defined as acting to the

Altruism Of Society : Altruism
UISM IN SOCIETY 1 Altruism in Society Alicia Carnicelli University of Phoenix PSY 490
Stephanie Townes ALTRUISM IN SOCIETY 2 As per many of the responsibilities that surround my
job description as a Caseworker, I administer a monthly teen group for adolescent girls that are at
risk. These young ladies come from a host of environments that encase circumstances surrounding
physical and/or sexual abuse, drug addiction, and other scenarios. As is customary with this
demographic, teen pregnancy is an issue as well. I have found that to a certain degree, many of these
at–risk youth have a somewhat dampened degree of others – a generalized sense of mistrust for
people in general and their feelings. Through my long course of interactions with these girls, I
gathered a sense of interconnectedness between this generalized lack of empathy and trust and the
abuse indicated. What I wanted to do for them was to design an educational trip of sorts that would
elicit a learning experience of insightful reflection of experiences based upon their interactions with
people experiencing disheartening situations. Then the idea hit me – an idea that stemmed from my
own experience. I had the privilege of getting together my Teen Group and having them cook for the
Ronald McDonald house families who are all going through traumatic events. This is where my
husband and I spent two months as our 29 week old preemie daughter fought for her life. I really
wanted it to hit

Altruism And It 's Causes
In this paper, I will be discussing the concept of altruism and it's causes in relation to a story of a bus
driver who risked her own life to save the children she was transporting. To achieve this goal I will:
define the necessary concepts (part I), provide examples demonstrating the differing causes of
altruism and how they relate to the event in question (part II), and refer to conducted research which
supports and further describes the actions taken in my chosen event (part III). While there are many
persons who acted altruistically in the following story, I have decided to narrow the scope of this
paper to the acts of one Renita Smith so as to enable a greater level of precision in my attribution
and explanation of the relevant concepts.
Event Summary
Whilst going through her elementary school bus route, Renita Smith, the bus driver, was alerted to a
beeping sound coming from her dashboard before she detected the scent of smoke. Only mere
moments later, the bus, which was carrying 20 children, caught aflame. In the released dashcam
footage, the bus in question can be seen entirely engulfed by a thick, black smoke and fire. Without
waiting to consider options, Smith immediately stopped the bus and began escorting the children off
of it. Surrounding neighbours and drivers ran to the aid of the children, ensuring that they made it a
safe distance away. It was Smith, however, who risked her own life through repeatedly entering the
flaming bus until she was certain that not

Altruism Is Important in Society
Knowing and Knowledge 1 ACX1001
Semester 1 2009
Longer Essay:
Why is kindness or altruism important for society?
Roselyn Weereratne
Student: 3801157
Tutor: Joyce
Tute: 17:30 Monday
Why is kindness or altruism important for society?
Altruism may be defined as a basic selfless attitude that may attribute to those providing initial
intervention (Ronel, 2006).
For a society or community to thrive, prosper and grow minimum expectations must exist for the
individuals of that community to be happy. Rules and laws are in place to govern the ways in which
we should act socially, ethically and morally. Among such principles is an expectation to be fair and
kind to those around oneself, as you yourself would like to be ... Show more content on
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In other words although kindness is important to society, I might not be able to help if the provider
doesn't benefit in one–way or another or if it costs me too much.
As Guagnano, Stern, and Dietz (1995) interpret the Schwartz model, for a person to act
altruistically, the person must be aware of negative consequences and also must attribute some
responsibility to take appropriate action to persons like himself or herself. When people hold both
these beliefs, they

Theme Of Altruism In Good To A Fault
ISU Response 1
The novel Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott, primarily revolves around the theme of altruism. The
novel begins with Clara who gets into a car accident with another family who happens to already be
dealing with many other conflicts. After the accident occurred, the mother of the victim's household
was admitted to the hospital and found out that she had cancer. It appears that the family were
financially unstable and that they were living in their vehicle moving from town to town, which met
with an accident. As a result of guilt and pure kindness, Clara takes in the kids and their
grandmother to their home. On the outside this seems like a kind, selfless act, but in her thoughts the
readers understand that she sometimes does not believe that being so generous to others that she
barely knows is good. The text so far and the overall theme of altruism made me question points in
relation to my inquiry topic: To what extent does literature have the ability to oversimplify reality?
The author writes primarily in third person, but also writes from each person's perspective through
dialogue. The fact that the author chose to include Clara's thoughts in addition to her actions, really
enhanced my understanding of Clara's personality. At first, Clara seemed like a kind individual
helping others from the goodness of her heart, but as I progressed into the novel I realized that she
feels that being kind is only solution and is pressured by it.
From the first glimpse of

Examples Of Altruism
Altruism is the virtue of unselfishness. It is the principle and practice of concern for others. T
ypically it is associated with'selfless acts' like volunteering and helping the less fortunate. Altruists
are commonly stereotyped to those who've given greatly to those in need, to the extent in which they
seemingly put those in need over themselves. The Dalai Lama and Mahatma Gandhi are common
icons for this theory.
Pure altruism is the form of the virtue in which one can perform altruist acts while remaining
completely unselfishly motivated. A circumstance of this would be donating money for the benefit
of others with no personal self–satisfaction or mental rewarding. An example of a pure altruist act is
an innocent mother risking her life to save her young child, and dying as the result of saving her
child. I do acknowledge a fair hearing towards this and agree it is morally courageous in our present
western society. However, seemingness is a true factor that is predetermined in this sense. It's not the
question of what the mother gains from death that's important, but the theme of absence gained from
living. More specifically, the mom subconsciously concluded
Dirk Willems and Thích
Quảng Đức also come to mind. well, one can still feel rewarded and do something altruistically . It
is just the claim that one can be sufficiently motivated to act out of

The Conception Of The Theory Of Psychological Altruism
The theory of psychological egoism shows that, at the center of each willful human activity, there is
the inspiration of self–interest – that we do things on the grounds that they profit us. It doesn't
propose how to live, yet rather how individuals do really go about their lives, regularly. This theory
is extremely controversial because of the ease it decreases all activities to egomaniacal thinking.
Extracting from that perception, we can extend that all the great done by individuals is an outcome
of egotistical intentions. The theory utterly denies both the present altruism, and the self–less noble
in individuals. Altruism is the bestowal of a profit by one individual to an additional in a caring
manner. Such practices cost the individual ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Thomas Plante from Psychology Today he believes "ethics and egoism go hand and hand"
(2011).When you consider ethics you likely think of individuals making the best decision to bring
about a significant improvement and thinking liberally of the needs of others. Yet, when you break
down why individuals settle on the moral choices that they do, more often than not, they are
considering self–interest (that is egoism) (Plante). How I see it, ethical and psychological egoism
only have one substantial difference; which is a normative viewpoint and non–normative. A
normative view is likely to speak about what one should do. Normative theories try to suggest
behavior and principles that advise what one should do in a certain situation. In contrast, a non–
normative view is one that makes claims only about how things are, rather than how they should be.
Essentially, the difference is how it is vs. how it ought to

Arguments Against Altruism
Altruism and profit are often at different ends of the spectrum when it comes to medicine and health
care as a whole. Altruism is the belief and practice of self–less concern for others over a person's
own self. One of the biggest problems in our health care system today and possibly even during
Henrietta's time is that medicine and health care as a whole are so commercialized and are only
concerned with earning a profit. Henrietta's cells were stolen without any notice and her family was
not compensated for this crime. Eventually Henrietta's cells became so important and eventually
earned researchers millions of dollars. The theft of her cells had nothing to do with Henrietta as a
person, but rather the doctors and researchers wanting to make a dollar off of a dead woman's cells.
Dr. Gey and others did not know that Henrietta's cells were going to change medicine but the fact
that they did change medicine and no compensation was given to Henrietta and her family show that
many doctors are not concerned with their patients, they are more concerned about their paycheck
and whether or not they will be remembered in history forever. Out of all of Henrietta's children,
Zakariyya was the absolute angriest. He was angry that the HeLa cells were used for nothing but
profit ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Southam also used HeLa cells in an unethical and unorthodox way. He was taking cancerous saline
solution and injecting it into patients with leukemia and also into healthy people. His methods were
extremely unethical, but at the time he was attempting to find a cure of cancer, and then turn that
cure into a profit making machine. The profit and monetary means earned by the doctors and
researchers of the HeLa cells fell on both sides of the ethical spectrum. On one side there were the
doctors who were performing dangerous and often deadly experiments on people to try and
understand the cancer but there were also doctors whose research actually made a difference and
helped the medical

Egoism Vs Altruism
Egoism and Altruism are two ideas widely known in philosophy as two opposing ideas based on the
actions of individuals. Egoists believe that act for their own self interest. Altruists believe that
individuals act for the welfare of others. These two ideas highlight the differences between two
extreme natures. People by nature are egoists. This will be proven by exploring philosophers such as
Ayn Rand, Thomas Hobbes, Henry Sidgwick and their theories on egoism involving rational and
ethical egoism. Additionally, it will be proven using philosophers such as Derek Parfit and Jean
Jacques Rosseau who criticize these ideas, but are ultimately wrong.
There has been much controversy around the ideas of egoism and altruism as many philosophers
have

The Theory Of Egoism And Altruism
In this paper I will argue that selecting only one form of egoism is not enough to explain human
motives and that it takes a mix of several theories to explain it, specifically a mix of ethical egoism
and altruism, with the side note that intent is not important in this situation. The mix is important, as
any one theory seemingly fails to encapsulate the scope of human interactions. Pure ethical egoism,
the idea that each person should only try to help themselves, makes people out to be too greedy and
seemingly unwilling to help anyone at any point in their lives. Pure altruism, the idea that people
should use their abilities and advantages to exclusively help others, makes people too willing to
sacrifice what they have for someone else. If people were completely altruistic nothing would ever
be accomplished and eventually those advantages would become erased as people stop working to
better themselves. I also believe that the intent of the action is not important so the morality of the
action should be directly tied to the outcome, not the thought process of the person doing the action.
All of these ideas will be explained in more detail later in the paper. This paper will look at each of
these three factors individually, show why they are insufficient for explaining human motives on
their own and then explain how they can all work in conjunction to better explain human motives.
This paper will then go on to show how someone might disagree with this thesis by providing some

Injury Vs Altruism
Altruism Correlation between Gender and Injury vs Non–injury
Picture walking down a hallways and another individual is walking towards you with an injured arm
in a sling and is holding multiple books in their other hand. As they are waking they drop their
books, do you help them, or see if someone else around will help? Now picture that the individual
with the books does not have an injured arm, would you help then, or see if someone else will help
them? Altruism is something that has been looked at in past research. Altruism is the idea that
individuals act out of apprehension for the wellbeing of others regardless of their own self interests.
There are a lot of different things that affect the rate of altruism in people. Personality, the ... Show
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When it comes to the different situations, when there is an individual in a higher status position,
they are more willing to help those individuals in a lower status position because they believe that
they caused their own problems (Monk–Turner et al., 2002). They found that gender also plays a
role in the altruistic behavior of individuals. They found that women are more likely to respond
better to random acts of kindness rather than men due to socialization differences. This study also
found that there is difference in gender based on the type of help that is needed. Such as the fact that
women are more likely to help in a situation with a friends where the situation is non– threatening,
and a non–emergency due to the idea of social schemas (Monk–Turner et al.,

Why Altruism Is More Important?
A wise man named Martin Luther stated: "Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light
of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness." This means that you have a choice
to make in life, and it has to do whether you want to help everyone out, or be egoistic and be selfish.
Although egoism and altruism are both equally important, the world needs altruism to come before
egoism. The reason why altruism is more important is because of this 2 main reasons why you
should have more altruism the first source that is going to be use is Sermon by Martin Luther King,
and the second source that is going to be used is Anthem. Although it is more important to have
altruism in our life it is important to have egoism at the same time only when you need to and
example can be Ayn Rand Biography, which shows a different perspective in life. ... Show more
One main question is being did she apply altruistic way too much in her life that she didn't care
much about her? Mother Teresa was "deeply involved" (____) with the churches. As stated before
she dedicated herself to the people in need for example "alleviating the girls in poverty though
education," (____) she opened her doors to care for people that were infected with HIV/AID, this
list can keep on going but this are just a few example. People describes Mother Teresa as "generous
dispenser of divine mercy" (____) which means that she did what she could to help the community.
This got to the point that she was called "Saint Teresa" (____), after she died she remained in the
spotlight of the whole

Altruism And The Bystander Effect

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