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**Extinimot** · 09-21-2012, 10:39 AM

MORE ON ALTRUISM

After writing this post it occurred to me that I referred to altruism, as to virtue of helping others, and I ignored part of altruism that states, that helping others should be without benefits to first person. Well, I guess if it comes to pure altruism it might be a spill over or side effect of compassion, empathy, and general goodwill of helping others. In most of cases helping your group members is beneficial to group therefore to individuals. If this trend is mostly beneficial it will get hard wired into a brain, giving many generations. I said mostly because in nature nothing is perfect, black and white. It is enough if statistically something works and benefits group more often than not.
I think it is our human brain with strong tendency to compartmentalizing and categorizing of things blurring our understanding of nature. When we think nature we should try thinking statistics and spectrum, probabilities and combinations.
Funny thing about altruism is that it might not exist at all. Even if a person supports charities this person is doing it for its own gratification or a good place in heaven. Try to find arrogant, egoistic, people hating person and make him/her help someone. Now that would be a pure altruism.

09-21-2012, 10:39 AM	#9
Extinimot Join Date Nov 2005 Posts 485 Senior Member	MORE ON ALTRUISM After writing this post it occurred to me that I referred to altruism, as to virtue of helping others, and I ignored part of altruism that states, that helping others should be without benefits to first person. Well, I guess if it comes to pure altruism it might be a spill over or side effect of compassion, empathy, and general goodwill of helping others. In most of cases helping your group members is beneficial to group therefore to individuals. If this trend is mostly beneficial it will get hard wired into a brain, giving many generations. I said mostly because in nature nothing is perfect, black and white. It is enough if statistically something works and benefits group more often than not. I think it is our human brain with strong tendency to compartmentalizing and categorizing of things blurring our understanding of nature. When we think nature we should try thinking statistics and spectrum, probabilities and combinations. Funny thing about altruism is that it might not exist at all. Even if a person supports charities this person is doing it for its own gratification or a good place in heaven. Try to find arrogant, egoistic, people hating person and make him/her help someone. Now that would be a pure altruism.
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