ALTRUISM

Altruism or selflessness is the concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a coreaspect of variousreligioustraditions andsecularworldviews,thoughtheconcept of ‘others’toward whom concern should be directedcanvary among cultures and religions. Altruism or selflessness is the opposite of selfishness.

Altruism (also known as the ethic of altruism, moralistic altruism, and ethical altruism) is an ethical doctrine that holds that the moral value of an individual’s actions depends solely on their impact on other individuals, regardless of the consequences on the individual himself. The altruist dictum can be stated as: “An action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favourable than unfavourable to everyone except the agent.” Auguste Comte’s version of altruism calls for living for the sake of others.

Auguste Comte coined the word “altruism”. He believed that individuals had a moral obligation to renounceself-interest andlive forothers.ForComte,the first principle of morality is theregulative supremacy of social sympathy over the self-regarding instincts.” The law and duty of life in altruism can be summed up as: Live for others.” There are other ways of defining altruism. But all these definitions generally mention a moral obligation to benefit others or the moral value of serving others rather than oneself. C. D. Broad defines altruism as “the doctrine that each of us has a special obligation to benefit others.” W. G. Maclagan defines it as “a duty to relieve the distress and promote the happiness of our fellows...Altruism is to...maintain quite simply that a man may and should discount altogether his own pleasure or happiness as such when he is deciding what course of action to pursue.”

In one way, utilitarianism can result in altruism. Utilitarianism recommends acts that maximise the good of society. As the rest of society will always outnumber the utilitarian, a utilitarian will practise some form of altruism. However, classical economic theory holds that if every economic agent pursues his self interest, social welfare will be maximised. This view works against altruism. As an ethical principle, altruism has been criticized. Friedrich Nietzsche held that the idea to treat others as more important than oneself is degrading and demeaning to the self. He also believed that the idea that others have a higher value than oneself hinders the individual’s pursuit of self- development, excellence, and creativity. He however mentioned that one has a ‘duty’ to help those who are weaker than oneself. Many writers believe that sacrificing one’s long term interests for the sake of others may be irrational. Psychological egoism, is the thesis that humans always act in their own interest and that true altruism is impossible. Rational egoism is the view that rationality consists in acting in one’s self-interest (without specifying how this affects one’s moral obligations).

Many writers question the possibility of ‘true’ altruism. According to the doctrine psychological egoism, no act of sharing, helping or sacrificing can be described as truly altruistic. Although these seem as disinterested and self–denying, the moral agent may receive an intrinsic reward by

way of psychological gratification. This may be stretching the idea of gratification too far since for example a soldier sacrificing his life receives no gratification in the normal sense.