Human Behavior Essay Samples

Own example of altruism psychology definition

I argue that altruism is really a form of egoism.Before I begin my argument I will first define the definitions of both egoism and altruism.

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Altruism is the unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness.It can as well be instinctive behavior that is detrimental to the individual but favors the survival or spread of that individual's genes, as by benefiting its relatives.

Egoism on the other hand is the ethical belief that self-interest is the just and proper motive for all human conduct.I believe that altruistic behavior is a manifestation of egoism in that the desire to help other people, especially in the case where such assistance is not requested of the person giving it, rests solely on that person's self perceived moral righteousness. The fact that this perception is entirely self-actualized suggests that the desire to help others is egoistic rather than altruistic.aWhere self interest comes into play is that all people desire to be seen in a good moral light and one's desire to help others would best serve that self interest. Another example of altruism serving self interest is guilt associated with living a privileged life. The giving of time or money or aaresources to those less fortunate can help stem this guilt, again serving the self interest of the person.The desire to be seen as morally righteous does not always require external validation. In this case, it may be that the self perception of moral righteousness warrants the altruistic behavior. However, there is also the possibility that the rescuer will receive praise upon his "good deed" which would bolter his ego and thus would be highly valued by the individual. In ether case, the desire to help the injured companion is ego based.I argue that all human social interactions are mutually beneficial. No human being will help another unless they can get something out of it for themselves. This proposal is supported by the nature of human social groups. Each specialized component of the group serves the others and they intern serve them and together they form a functioning group. For example, in a tribe, warriors serve the people by protecting them from other hostile tribes. In return the warriors are given money, a well fed and stocked with weapons. These services are provide by the tribal government, the farmers and metal workers respectively. This is proof that self interest is at the hard of altruism and indeed that altruism serves self interest or self preservation and is thus egoistic in nature.Psychological egoism is the thesis that all of our (intentional) actions are ultimately motivated by what we take to be in our own self-interest. This is distinct from ethical egoism, which makes a similar claim that is normative rather than merely descriptive. Many treat altruism as a motivational state that is ultimately other-regarding. (This is importantly different from more technical uses of the term, such as the merely behavioral sense often used in evolutionary theory.) Psychological altruism is the main opposing view, stating that some of our actions are ultimately motivated by genuine altruism (ultimately other-regarding motivations). Importantly, the motivations here must be ultimate or intrinsic. Psychological egoists admit that we can desire to help another, but they will maintain that this is merely instrumental to an ultimate desire that is self-interested. Such a theory is important to ethics in part because it can potentially lead to challenging morality: If altruism is psychologically impossible, then it can't be our duty to be altruistic.

Egoism definition

One of the most common human traits is egoism. Egoism is called the action of individuals for their own good. In other words, individuals act for their self-interest. Selfishness is an interesting phenomenon. Although people perceive it as a bad human trait, they forget to look at it as a tool for survival. People sacrifice some part of themself, be it money or time, to help others in need.according to definition, altruism can be defined as unselfish concern about the welfare of other people. on the other hand, egoism is an excessive preoccupation with a person's interests and well-being. Care for infants and children does not rest solely upon a person's self-perceived moral righteousness. We know this is so because infants are cared for universally, independent of varying cultural perceptions of self-righteousness and also by people who have no care for the opinions of others. Other perceptions of "righteousness" are culture-dependent, so it is clearly very strong instinctive behavior. The zoology definition acknowledges the instinct in other species, and the reasons for an altruistic instinct in humans is the same. Infants could not survive if not cared for, and so the instinct is necessary for the survival of the species.

Pro claims that people behave altruistically wen they want "to be seen in a good moral light," but people also behave altruistically when there is no group watching. For example, if one person of a pair is injured on a hiking trip, te other person will go to get help. There are many accounts of such events, and people do not say they get help because they are worried about appearances, and no reason to suppose that they are. If it were as Pro supposes, then it would be revealed by injured companions who manage to survive without help, or by later confessions of the perpetrators.

If Pro denies this claim, I challenge him to assert that he would fail to care for infant if he was sure no one would know of his negligence.

Evidently every person attaches different weight to the welfare of others. To help measure that a social value orientation is introduced. It is defined as the person's preference to how to distribute his/her resources between the self and another person. J. de Groot and L. Steg state that these social value orientations have hardly any empirical ways to measure. They review three studies that are aimed to examine an egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric value orientation can be distinguished empirically by using an adapted value instrument. The results from the experiments support the thesis that they can indeed be accurately measured using the adapted value instrument. This provides great help in further studying egoism and altruism as more accurate data can be acquired.In conclusion selfishness and altruism are constant part of nature. They have to exist in order for species to exist. However, one cannot exist without the other. Much is argued about the problem of whether altruism is part of selfishness or is a separate trait, but everyone agrees that they both exist and is needed in order for species to survive.