MetaFilter posts tagged with altruism

Love Thy Neighbor: Why Have We Become So Suspicious Of Kindness?

jason's_planet — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 12:54:33 -0800

Love Thy Neighbor: Why Have We Become So Suspicious Of Kindness? Most people, as they grow up now, secretly believe that kindness is a virtue of losers. But agreeing to talk about winners and losers is part and parcel of the phobic avoidance, the contemporary terror, of kindness. Because one of the things the enemies of kindness never ask themselves - and this is now an enemy within all of us - is why we feel it at all. Why are we ever, in any way, moved to be kind to other people, not to mention to ourselves? Why does kindness matter to us?

sometimes it sounds like Kitty Genovese

four panels — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:58:01 -0800

Why should you risk your own life to save another human being? Maybe altruism in innate, like a bird's pretty song, or is it something that must be learned?

Jonathan Haidt on the "Five Foundations" of Morality

McLir — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:06:18 -0800

"From a review of the anthropological and evolutionary literatures [Edge.org]... there were three best candidates for being additional psychological foundations of morality [embedded video], beyond harm/care and fairness/justice. These three we label as ingroup/loyalty (which may have evolved from the long history of cross-group or sub-group competition...); authority/respect (which may have evolved from the long history of primate hierarchy, modified by cultural limitations on power and bullying...), and purity/sanctity, which may be a much more recent system, growing out of the uniquely human emotion of disgust, which seems to give people feelings that some ways of living and acting are higher, more noble, and less carnal than others. "...It might seem obvious to you that contractual societies are good, modern, creative and free, whereas beehive societies reek of feudalism, fascism, and patriarchy. And, on balance, I agree that liberal contractual societies such as those of Western Europe offer the best hope for living peacefully together in our increasingly diverse modern nations (although it remains to be seen if Europe can solve its current diversity problems). "I just want to make one point, however, that should give contractualists pause: surveys have long showed that religious believers in the United States are happier, healthier, longer-lived, and more generous to charity and to each other than are secular people. Most of these effects have been documented in Europe too. If you believe that morality is about happiness and suffering, then I think you are obligated to take a close look at the way religious people actually live and ask what they are doing right." [$1000 prize for those who can expand or refine the five foundations, scroll down to #2. Previously]

It feels good to help.

longsleeves — Tue, 29 May 2007 20:15:46 -0800

You are most welcome. sigh. Bill Gates must feel like several billion dollars.

evolution of cooperation

Tryptophan-5ht — Mon, 08 May 2006 00:43:07 -0800

evolution of cooperation apparently the evolution of cooperative behavior has been something of a rough spot for evolution researchers. Some guys (Mikhail Burtsev & Peter Turchin) developed a computer simulation that helps to explain how the essential selfishness of survival is not mutually exclusive to altruism and cooperation as well as how these behaviors can arise naturally. (further reading from google: ###)

Eat it, Rand.

schroedinger — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 19:38:33 -0800

An evolutionary basis for altruism. These findings suggest that true altruism, far from being a maladaptation, may be the key to our species' success by providing the social glue that allowed our ancestors to form strong, resilient groups. Sharing isn't just caring, it's surviving.

Objectivism: The philosophy of the future?

jdroth — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 18:28:33 -0800

The U.S should not help tsunami victims according to those ever-thoughtful fellows at the Ayn Rand Institute. Why not? Because, Objectively speaking, altruism is evil, especially collective altruism.

NortonDC — Wed, 09 Jan 2002 12:39:44 -0800

Anger plays a key role in human cooperation. And not only that, anger is altruistic! The link covers a behavioral experiment probing individual versus group benefits, freeloading, punishment and altruism.