Some Thoughts On Altruism

We live in a time of tension, how ever are we to cure this fragmented society of ours? How do we band together when we are selfish and driven only by our own desire to reproduce and acquire property?


Beliefs are both unconscious as well as conscious, and they have a profound effect on values, personality, and behavior. The human animal is unique in that it's intelligence can control it's own instinct and emotions. This is what makes us different from other animals, it has had some interesting effects on how we react with one another. For one, it has allowed society to evolve in the way that it has, it has also given us a wealth of choice in places we did not have it in. Therefore, simply saying 'human nature' prevents us from doing something is illogical, because we can control and or repress our desires (though our desires will no doubt find other ways to seep through and effect our actions). Though the human is hardwired with these things, and they will seep through in our actions unconsciously, I still believe that through critical thinking we can control ourselves to make many different living environments possible, if the humans are willing to accept change.


In the beginning, people lived in much smaller, tightly knit groups. This family unit worked well, but the people found that they could survive better in groups of less than a dozen. As the population of the tribes increased, tribes meet up with one another. Some may of merged together, others may of fought against one another, and some may of just traded with one another. But, some tribes no doubt had more wealth than other tribes. As human tribes with got larger and richer in whatever material item(s) that were desired, so did tribes began to envy one another, and the weaker tribes no doubt attempted to undermine the others/go to war with them.


Well, we are still human, and that part of the human is intertwined with the rest of our past evolution. Now, we have different sub cultures in society, same dynamic, but whole hell of a lot more people, all over crowded in the land. But, this does not have to mean conflict. The problem is that there is no set dynamic for human behavior, even with government present we have several sub-cultures within our own society who live by their own standards, and will resist the authority if their own ways of life are compromised. Society is fragmented by different social views on the world, it always will be as long as diversity exists and no one can come to a compromise. Unlike the other animals, we can make choices, and we don't all make the same choices.


But, it takes a certain kind of person to be able to come to a compromise. That is, one who is actually capable of controlling his/her own instincts and emotions for the sake of compromise. Do not mistake what I am saying, I do not believe we should remove all sources of conflict from our lives. This comfort would stagnate us, and degrade what abilities we have. I think that we have many sources of conflict and many things to strive for, and that society ought to work together so that we can ensure our own survival and better our own race. Some of this friction in our own society is preventable.


In our capitalist society, which is believed to be driven by self interest, there is a common notion that Altruism is done only to aide the person who is giving it. It is the idea that people who do not produce are 'freeloaders', and are therefore entitled to less rights and respect because they do not wish to work. This is obviously more of the subtle underpinnings of how we judge people off of their monetary status. Capitalism can be driven by self interest and still benefit the greater whole of people. Giving jobs to the poor is an example of this, but their must be competition otherwise the firm will not pay a fair amount to the worker. Honest markets are more efficient because people do not have to research and inspect every item they buy or sell. Altruism and self interest can co-exist in many win-win situations.


There are some psychological strings attached to any free meals: It can be when the person who gives the meal comes to believe that s/he is better than the person who receives it, which can develop a victim attitude in the receiver. Also, it can be simply wanting to repay a favor given. I believe that when both the giver and receiver chose to do what they do, for whatever reasons, and except that they are both equals in society, then Altruism is possible without these strings. Altruism can be executed out of values, and not just out of calculation of having a favor returned in the future. In Value Altruism the person lives by their own values, which includes helping others. This form of Altruism is based off of living the way the person thinks life should be lived, and is not directly related to any selfish means.


Naturally, it would also depend on how the person decided to be Altruistic. We have tribal Altruism, which is giving aid to those who are related to you by ethnic, work, or community. Then, there is mutual Altruism, which is based off of the idea that all people are alike, or at least not to different, and therefore we can help everyone. The person in this position may feel like s/he can be friends with everyone s/he meets. Some could consider this based off of self interest, because you have something in common with everyone, but it achieves the idea of having people work together. I believe this is the best form of Altruism in our large diverse society.


Humans need to work together in order to increase our quality of life, and so that our race can progress and not be threatened by extinction. I am not saying that we need to destroy all forms of conflict so that we can create a totally comfortable environment, this would degrade us even further. I am saying that we should remove the friction in our own society so that we can focus on the survival and betterment of our species. Critical thinking, compromise, and a little Altruism will make a progressive society. The idea is that we try to put some balance between our own self interest and others. There are many situations that do require the person to put his/her own interests above that of the group, I am only suggesting that we can work together more often to reduce our daily friction. To put it simply, if we are tolerant of one another on a day to day basis, use critical thinking, and consider what other people need, we could reduce the friction and stress in our society.