Thursday, June 26, 2014

Altruistic Behavior

Altruism is basically the belief in or the practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others. I do not believe that someone can have a true altruistic behavior, I feel like there is always a reason for someone doing an action even if it is internal. If someone was on the side of the road and I was skeptical about stopping, the only reason I would stop is to feel better about myself or to hope that someone would stop for me if I was the one stuck. Both of these reasons are not selfless therefor they are not true altruistic behaviors. It is hard for someone to knowingly do good for someone else and not get anything out of it because even if you turn down money from someone you helped you will still get a better sense of pride among other feelings. If you pay for a strangers groceries because you are in a rush and need to be somewhere and she is in front of you, although it may seem that you are only doing it for yourself I'm sure you will get a sense of relief knowing she can eat tonight because you helped her. Therefor I do not think that it is possible for someone to knowingly help someone and have it be a true altruistic behavior.

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