Does True Altruism Exist - Essay Example

Does True Altruism Exist? Does True Altruism Exist? Altruism is the quality that moves an individual to offer help to anotherperson who happens to be in need. Altruism is a term coined to define the act of giving or helping others. Psychological studies show that the motivation to help someone in need depend on several factors (Fiske, 2009). Other psychologists have studied the level of giving in society. Understanding the reasons why people give is critical for psychologists (Nier, 2012). The frequency of giving, the cost, and type of need are of great interest to psychologists. Psychologists are out to establish whether true altruism exists. Establishing whether true altruism exists will help explain the human pro-social behavior in clear terms. It will give reasons why some people hold back from helping while others display selfless generosity. True altruism does exist but in minority cases. There are people who are willing to help others with no self-interest but putting the need of the other person as the sole goal. I believe true altruism exists and that some people can make sacrifices for the good of others without personal gain. Analysis of different scenarios of giving can help establish the definition and motivation of true altruism. In the first illustration, a young man was walking along a street in an area of high rates of insecurity. As he walked by, he witnessed two men attacking a woman. He did not know the woman but he suspected they had robbed her since this street was a regular zone for bandits. Without much thinking, he slapped one of the men risking his life for the woman. The minutes that followed saw the young man struggle with the two men until they surrendered to defeat and ran away. They exchanged several blows before the bandits vanished. The young man sustained injuries. The woman stood there speechless because she did not believe that any sane man would counter attack the gangsters prevalent in that area. In previous cases, people witnessing such a case usually ran for their lives, but this man proved different. The young man chose to help a woman he did not know. Helping her would cost his life, but he selflessly offered to help. Before the young man continued walking, he inquired from the woman whether she could get home on her own. It was late in the evening and the episode had scared the woman. The young man walked alongside her until they reached a safer street and then went his way. He expected nothing in return. Then young man may have acted out of empathy (Fiske, 2009). From another sense, helping the woman prevented the guilt he would feel if like the rest, he would run to safety and leave her with the attackers. In a different case, a young woman in my neighborhood saved a couple on hearing gunshots as she drove home one evening. When she was only entering the gate of our apartments, she heard gunshots. After a few seconds, she heard the screams of a woman. After the gunshots, she had decided to drive fast to the parking lot and quickly walk to her apartment. However, the screams changed her mind. She stopped, not knowing what to do next. Then an idea came to her` mind, she could call the police. Immediately, she made that critical call that every American bystander is afraid of making and then she drove to the parking and to her house. The following day, we realized that the gunshots were in the adjacent apartments. The woman who screamed and her husband were the target of the shots. However, the young woman who called the police had saved their lives as the police arrived just in a few minutes. On learning that a woman had called the police, the couple intended to meet her. However, when the police tried to connect them, the young woman declined, saying she acted to save a fellow being and would like to remain anonymous. This woman could probably not be able to handle the guilt if she had not helped (Fiske, 2009). She acted to protect her mood. Other psychologists describe this as egoistic altruism. There are people who help others expecting nothing in return. Last year, a first cousin was devastated because on diagnosis with kidney failure, she lacked faith that she could get a donor. As her situation worsened, she was losing faith that a compatible donor would appear. Her siblings were adopted brothers and compatibility tests were negative. The twenty-five year-old was losing faith. However, she decided to try out something crazy. She went public about her devastation on a social website and expressed how painful the situation was. The following day, she received a message from an anonymous potential donor. They had online conversation for some time and the story touched the anonymous friend. He left her a message one day that he would donate one of his kidneys. The news was too good to be true. The action of this man portrayed true empathy. Empathy moved him to help a total stranger and expect nothing in return. How could a total stranger understand her pain and offer to make such a huge sacrifice? She thought it was a big joke. However, the following day she received another message asking her to go to a certain hospital for preliminary compatibility test. Instincts urged her to go and she met the willing donor. The only thing the donor said was, “I am touched beyond measure and I have a conviction that I should help you but I expect nothing in return, God will reward me”. My cousin could never do enough to pay back and the man did not expect anything in return (Fiske, 2009). Religion gave a great impetus to his empathy. Fortunately, the compatibility test was positive, and my cousin is happy and healthy. Since a stranger helped my cousin, my cousin has learned the value of helping others. She hates to see anyone in pain or in need. The pain of others touches her. In other instances, she is willing to help because someone helped her. That incidence gives her the motivation to associate with anyone she meets that might need help. She has been visiting hospitals and talking to terminally ill patients. She is more jovial and believes that through helping others, she gets a thrill she has never felt before. A close analysis indicates that my cousin receives motivation to give from the true empathy of the donor (Fiske, 2009). In addition, helping others keeps her happy and this implies mood protection. From a personal level, I help every time an opportunity presents itself as long as I have the capacity to help. Every time I meet an individual on a wheel chair, I help push him or her around and talk to them. It gives me a thrill to make them feel like they belong. I complement them on the little things that they do and assure them that they can count on me any time they need anything. I imagine being in their shoes and I realize that the ting they need most is acceptance and belonging and this I can give expecting nothing in return. Every time they smile, they give me a reason to be happy. I believe there is empathy within me and this motivates me to help such people. Helping results to a glow in my heart although that is not my target. Psychological studies indicate that the quality of giving depends on different motivational factors. True altruism involves incurring the cost of giving to gain absolutely nothing in return (Oakley, 2011). True altruists request to remain anonymous help others as a compulsion from deep inside. The praise that comes with, giving or helping is not their motivation. There is no personal gain for them. The donor of a kidney to my cousin is an altruist. Donating a kidney is a health risk even when the recipient is a close relative. It costs more for one to donate to a stranger. The woman who alerted the police after hearing gunshots and requested to remain anonymous is another example of true altruism. She chose to remain anonymous to the couple. I strongly believe that true altruism still exists. It may come in different forms but the fact that someone is making a sacrifice without self-interest displays the empathy from deep within. It is not easy to analyze why people help others. In some cases, several motivations contribute to altruism. Empathy moves some individuals to relieve the pain of others. Some people cannot handle the guilt of not helping fellow man and they help to protect their mood. Helping generates a source of happiness. Psychologists suggest that other people help expecting reciprocation. At some point, what matters is the fact that one can give expecting nothing in return (Oakley, 2011). In my opinion, the happiness that results from giving others is not the goal at times. Giving, like any other cognitive process affects us. True altruism does exist and manifests itself in various forms in our society. Fiske, T. (2009). Social beings: core motives in social psychology. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. Nier, J. (2012). Taking sides: Clashing views in social psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc. Oakley, B. et al. (2011). Pathological altruism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. References Read More