Egoism and Altruism Why do we sometimes prefer to consult the interests of others rather than our own interests? What is the relationship between selfishness and benevolence? Is altruism merely a mask for self-interest? At first sight these may appear...

Three terms are commonly used in the broad research area that investigates positive interpersonal action: prosocial behavior, helping behavior, and altruism. "Prosocial behavior" is the broadest of the three; it refers to any behavior...

Altruism often is defined as an action intended to benefit another person even when that action could lead to sacrifices to the welfare of the actor. Altruism thus presents an issue for ethical reflection and a thorny problem for many scientific models...

Altruism While benevolence, compassion, and humanity were not major virtues for the ancient philosophers, modern moral philosophers generally agree that altruism is important to morality, although they disagree about what it is, how to explain it, and...

Parents sacrifice themselves for their children. Gift giving and sharing are universal. People help others in distress, give blood and may even donate a bodily organ to a stranger while still alive. In the Second World War some hid Jews from the Nazis...

Altruism, defined as an action that benefits the receiver but comes at some cost to the performer, is one of the four types of social interactions that can occur between animals of the same species. Figure 1 summarizes these four interactions....

Altruism refers to behavior that benefits other animals of the same species. Living in the company of other animals presents numerous drawbacks, such as increased competition for food, nest sites, and mates, and increased visibility to predators. Yet...

Modern, intimate studies of animal behaviour have repeatedly shown that nature is not always ‘red in tooth and claw’. Individuals help each other: to avoid predation (sounding alarms, joining in co-operative defence, sometimes risking their...

Altruism is the behavior of an individual that benefits others, it can in a number of circumstances be detrimental to the individual but of benefit to the group as a whole. There are many examples of altruistic behavior in biology. Grazing animals at...

Ethical theory that regards the good of others as the end of moral action; by extension, the disposition to take the good of others as an end in itself. The term (French, altruisme, derived from Latin alter: “other”) was coined in the 19th...

Seeking the good of others. This alternative to SELF-INTEREST can be a major motive for economic activity Many schemes of idealistic socialism rest on this principle. Adam SMITH used the concept of the INVISIBLE HAND to show that unconscious altruism...

The practice of putting the needs of others before one’s own. This is an important principle in humanistic adult...

see:...

Altruism is selfless concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and central to many religious traditions. In English, this idea was often described as the Golden rule of ethics. Some newer philosophies such as egoism...