Essays on Altruism

It’s rather usual relatively chilly autumn day in London and to the world a major event has caught the attention of viewers across the world. Pictures of two dark skinned men wielding a machete, a revolver and a cleaver and a Caucasian male lying prostate. A red sedan is also parked next to the three men. There is nothing unusual in having three men near a busy road in London, however, what could have transpired to bring about the circulation of the pictures of the three men?
Dressed in a black hoodie, Jake (not his real name) was

Continue reading...

Altruism according to Vonnegut entails the devotion to see others make it through situations difficult for them at the expense of the one assisting them in the move. Notably, altruism in nature and in human society may not be possible since it is impeded by aspects which are specific in nature and in human society. In most cases, altruism will not be practiced in human society owing to the interests that different people have which may conflict hence placing a barrier to its dispensation. Nevertheless, different individuals or groups have different takes on this aspect and will act according

Continue reading...

Located outside Target store location

The observation is a study of altruistic behavior of adults toward strangers. One goal in the study is to determine if the presence of an audience motivates a person to be charitable. Hudson and Bruckman (2004) theorized an individual of a particular personality will respond more to the opportunity to participate in a charitable contribution if others are aware of the donation. This may be evidenced in a donation when the plate is passed n church when a person feels others are watching. Some religious organizations include an envelope to conceal the amount of the donation. In this way,

Continue reading...

Frederick Nietzsche is perhaps among the most controversial philosopher and thinker of his time. Mostly remembers for his highly scandalous declaration that God is dead, Nietzsche explored the concept of will to power in his book The Gay Science. The concept that Nietzsche was driving at with this concept is that men by nature has that instinctive drive that urges him to insist his ways and values to other people . Nietzsche was trying to suggest that regardless of the superficial intent in one’s action, whether it is by virtue benefiting or harmful to another person, the motive of

Continue reading...

The best arguments I would give to my colleague for sharing the vaccine with others would be one of either the thought of the repercussions of not doing so would be more distressing weighed against the possibility of contracting the deadly disease. Psychologists call this punishment-reward. When faced with a situation where behavior is both detrimental and gratifying to one, the course of action is determined by the measure of how gratifying the positive consequences would be, versus how harmful the negative consequences would be. Naturally pain is avoided, and gratification is sought.
Since, as is the assumption, no

Continue reading...

Despite of living in a world that has extensively benefited from the capitalist production system, it still seems necessary to make questions about its ethics. There is no doubt that since its adoption and generalization, people around the world has experimented unprecedented wealth and freedom, but there are still issues that plague the world where capitalism has had no power to solve. Many even find the cause of said problems in the capitalist system. This paper will analyze the definition, elements and criticism of capitalism as exposed by William Shaw in his book Business Ethics to find out if

Continue reading...

It was a relatively chilly day in London. Three dark skinned men appear holding two machetes and two revolvers. Everyone watching these scary men got nervous and took cover in shops. Dressed in a black hood; Jake (not his real name) was jogging back to the military barracks just outside London. He is wiping goblets of sweat on his brow as he sighs to the accomplishment of completing his usual 5 mile morning run. He seems lost in his own world, maybe thinking of his young, newly-wedded wife who must mean much in his life especially at this stage

Continue reading...

Many schools of thought have been debating over several centuries as to what exactly it means to be a good person. Philosophers have also given many answers over the years about their general description of a good person. Many varying responses have been issued to give satisfactory definitions. While others state that it is respecting the law of the land; others argue it is dedicating their lives to helping others, while others believe being good is dictated by being religious. This paper will use the characters and events from the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni as well

Continue reading...

“There is a way to be good again” ( Hosseini K. 2003) a line delivered by Rahim Khan to Amir in order to encourage him to help Hassan’s son escape Afghanistan and finally free him from the guilt of his past. The powerful quotation showing how personal salvation can be achieved through saving another person, but the case of Amir in the Kite Runner is complex because before he did something good, he once did something he regretted. In the case of Amir, the main character in the Kite Runner, did saving his nephew be enough to consider him

Continue reading...

A human life can be viewed in various ways, but the most common way to describe and understand it is as a path towards one's fate and self-realisation. The book "Sky Burial" by Xinran Xue tells the story of Chinese woman Shu Wen, who on the path of searching for her husband has found herself and realised new ways in life. Although the book might seem quite simple in its narration and plot, the message indented behind is quite complex and aims to reach a wider audience.
First of all, Xinran aims at the description of one's love story

Continue reading...

Philosophy

The self-interest of person is itself a relative term as it is defined by various factors for example culture, religion, level of education and personal interests. Self-interest can also be defined as narcicism. Self-interest can vary as far as saddicism as long as it serves the personal interests of the sadist
Philosophical egoism can be proven to be true through thorough dissection and in-depth analysis of actions that are thought to be the most selfless ever committed. All actions serve to suit personal interests. A person giving a beggar money in the streets may seem selfless but they are

Continue reading...

Hamilton’s rule states that social behavior of organisms is supported by natural selection but only if rb-c>0, where r represents the genetic relatedness between actors and beneficiaries, b denotes the benefit that the social behavior confers on the beneficiary, and c is the cost that the social behavior imposes on the actor (Alonso, 2002). It is important to note that the rule suggests that the cost will most certainly diminish the appropriateness of the agent and on the other hand that the benefits will increase the suitability of the agent. Although this is the case, the rule

Continue reading...

1) “Shirts & Skins: The Sociology of Basketball” is a documentary that highly emphasizes the importance of teamwork, community and togetherness which comes about from team sport. The subjects of the documentary surprisingly cover all ethnic and gender backgrounds, showing a sense of camaraderie that seems to transcend their normal sociological differences. One of the biggest unifying elements in basketball seems to be a need to subsume one’s ego in order to meld together into a whole; to that end, any prejudices or biases these people have against each other normally would simply be surrendered for the sake of

Continue reading...

- Bibliographical Entry of the assigned reading

Temporality and Personal Identity in the Thought of Nishida Kitaro by Gereon Kopf

- What does the assigned reading cover?
The reading covers an analysis of Nishida’s conception of an individual in terms of self-determination from the concept of contradictory self-identity compared to the models of personal identity. Some of the models that are mentioned in the reading include monadology and selfless continuity. The author makes an attempt to address the question by analyzing the theory of essentialism developed by Leibniz’ along with theory of reductionism developed by Derek Parfit’s. He introduces a third theory by the name personal nonduality that derives its

Continue reading...

Based on the social integration, Durkheim identifies several types of suicides that occur in different societies. Each classification of suicide is based on how an individual relates and interacts with the society around him or her. Lack of sufficient social integration may result in egoistic suicide. This is due to an individual’s development of a feeling of isolation from the rest of society. This means that such an individual feels different and neglected by society such that he ceases to have a meaningful purpose in that society. It is common among individuals who lack social guidance and support,

Continue reading...

Altruism is the act of devotion for the wellbeing of others. Since it involves practices of selfless concern, altruism has been associated with increased happiness and health. A study by Otake et al. (2006) on the roles of altruism revealed that individuals who have consistently practiced altruism end up with satisfying lives than their counterparts. In addition, these studies have noted that these individuals are not likely to suffer from conditions like somatization, anxiety or depression. Besides mental health, altruism has shown improved physical health due to the rigorous community services that an altruistic person engages in. additionally, improved

Continue reading...

Introduction

Ethics is explained by the adherence of certain socially acceptable behaviours and practices. This subject deals with the goodness of the society and individuals. Ethical theories on leadership stress on the character and personality traits of leaders and the behaviours and actions of leaders. There are various definitions of ethical leadership and these have mainly focussed on behaviours, values and traits of leaders. Professionals have identified several motives and traits which are associated with ethical leaders. These qualities are honesty, fair, altruistic and trustworthy (Dierendonck, 2010).
The importance of ethical leadership is growing as certain renowned organizations like Lehmann

Continue reading...

Altruism is the genuine and selfless concern for the wellbeing of others. It centers, on a predisposition among individuals, to collaborate with others, as well as to punish those who act contrary to the norms of cooperation. This gets done at a personal price, even while it is improbable that the costs will ever be recovered. It is altruism that can create a harmonious society in which every single person feels secure. One of the major questions that the Stanford prison experiment set out to answer was: what will win between an evil situation and trustworthy people when the

Continue reading...

The exploration of the meaning of life is done through many different ways, one prevalent route being religion. In attempting to determine exactly where we fit in from our perspective in the universe, we have taken a plethora of roads toward that end - some believe that we need to connect more deeply with the universe around us, while others believe we need to be saved through an outside force that can only help us through complete abandonment of our agency. These two different, yet equally compelling, perspectives are outlined in Karen Armstrong's "Homo Religiosus" and Robert Thurman's essay "

Continue reading...

Thesis

Helping someone is all about inner conviction rather than expecting favor in return. It is all about doing the necessary to save a critical situation. The occurrence of this opportunity is called Altruism, it may also be defined as an activity repaid with an intrinsic reward and extrinsic gain. This is related to role taking in the sense that it involves a form of responsibility. In some cases, this exchange may be unfulfilled yet it does not make it any less of an altruistic relationship but does press for the reasons of human behavior.
People tend to help others

Continue reading...

1. It has been argued that it is "irrational" to vote and "irrational" to become informed about politics. Explain fully how these conclusions are derived. What factors, e.g., political factors or behavior, promote voting and/or reduce the costs of voting and getting informed? Use concrete examples to explain if, why and how people become informed about politics and vote.
There have been several arguments about voting and some people have argued out that it is unreasonable to vote and become informed about politics. Such arguments are based on the nature of politics and the occurrences of events in the

Continue reading...

As an act of altruism, I donated a sum of money to Commit2Africa. This is a charity which helps children in Africa to access education (Clover, 2010). However, I gained pleasure from knowing that my money was going to help other people. I also knew that I would feel this before I made the donation and, therefore, it was not a truly selfless act.
“Altruism is helping behaviour that is motivated by a selfless concern for the welfare of another person” (altruism). Altruism differs from personal and social responsibility as both of the latter are motivated by a sense

Continue reading...