Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [altruism]

Altruism is the selfless concern for the well being of others.

Altruism is the selfless concern for the well being of others.

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Is it possible to be truly selfless or altruistic?

Is it possible for people to actually be selfless? It seems that in many cases where someone is being kind, they are actually performing in a manner that will benefit them. Either the recipient of the kindness will reciprocate, or the act of…
E1Suave
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Is altruism a contradiction?

A discussion at work recently involved our CEO (who has a psychology degree and is generally very knowledgable.. I have a lot of respect for his opinion) stating with great confidence that altruism is impossible, the argument being that an act of…
user2808054
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Why is Altruism the default standard of moral and ethical philosophy?

Altruism seems to be the assumed default basis of all proper moral and ethical philosophy. Why is this? Are there any alternative bases for a standard of ethics and morality that might be considered? Also, the nature of Altruism appears to be absurd…
quaestio e responsum
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If there is life, then there is more complex life as well?

Researchers in Switzerland have developed an Altruism algorithm that shows how altruism in a swarm of entities can, over time, evolve and result in more effective swarm behaviour. For an ant colony, this would mean that, over time the individuals…
draks ...
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Is pure altruism irrational?

I apologize in advance, because I'm trying to get back up to speed in Philosophy, and may butcher terms and possibly, inadvertently for the most part, ask silly questions. I'm defining rational altruism in the context of Evolutionary Game Theory,…
DukeZhou
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What are the differences between Socialism and Altruism? Why do people confuse socialism with altruism?

I need to find fundamental differences which separates socialism from altruism. I know that it is easy to confuse socialism with altruism, because socialism demands absolute equality and elimination of class. Basic search shows: Altruism: A moral…
Michael16
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How exactly does ethics relate to what appears to be ethical animal behavior?

After listening to Dr. Jordan Peterson's lectures on Psychology of Personality, I found the notion that animal behaviors follow an ethic fascinating. He stipulates that rats will play fight and if the larger rat doesn't let the smaller rat win ~30%…
Moobius Strip
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Altruism as an interpretation of Plato’s Allegory of the cave

The allegory of the cave can be interpreted in many ways, but I’m wondering if anyone would agree that one interpretation would be to overcome being self-centred and become more altruistic ? For bonus points on the topic of altruism, do think…
ben
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Thinking that all individuals pursue "selfish" interest is equivalent to assuming that all random variables have zero covariance

I read that: Thinking that all individuals pursue "selfish" interest is equivalent to assuming that all random variables have zero covariance. -- Nero What does that mean, and what does it have to do with random variables and covariance? There is an…
BCLC
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How does objectivism see altruism during an accident?

As I understand, objectivism is against altruism. If a stranger is drowning in a lake and I know how to swim I can try to help and risk my own life in doing so. The person might cling to me and drown me. So according to my rational self-interest, I…
Peter Cornell
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Game theory: altruistic / selfish voting

In the largest published PDG [prison dilemma game] experiment (Rapoport & Chammah 1965), almost 50 percent of strategy choices were cooperative, and even in experiments using one-shot PDGs, many players cooperate, to their mutual…
user13547
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According to contemporary philosophical theoreies, from what is morality derived and what is it for in the context of society?

In Arabic, we have the concept 'ahlak' which is often translated into english as 'moral', but in fact they are not the same, and so following the principle of exegetical neutrality, I shall simply use 'moral' and 'morality'. Please note 'ahlak'…
Ferkan Zeki
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Is true Altruism possible?

Is real Altruism even possible? We can argue the giver feels good about themselves after giving. Or that they do it to get points with God. Even the atheist still can feel good about themselves. You could argue that feeling was just a side effect…
Steve237
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Is AI the evolution of humanity through suicide of a species; via martyrdom?

We have and are currently in the process of creating, in the image of ourselves, artificial intelligence beings able to process, perform, and memorize beyond our scope. This belief, that a higher than human being, a deity, beyond our current human…
M. Zeal
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Do any moral philosophers discuss 'validation'?

Do philosphers of ethics talk about validation? The idea that my life or projects or person have some intrinsic value, specifically not just those that are innate to persons? Maybe my tags seem a little random, but seems like altruism / truth / art…
user6917
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