Why Altruism is Not a Myth

There are also those who argue that the act of giving itself gives people a feel-good factor, and thus it is not truly altruism, as a person gains from it. What difference is there from this feel-good factor from the feel-good factor we have when someone gives us genuine praise for our intelligence, our strength, our looks? Or from self-praise for a work well-done? It is the same thing. Just because there are no circumstances at this current moment that let me use my superior intellect doesn’t mean I don’t possess this trait. And I certainly have no reason to indulge in a feel-good factor about my intellect when nothing arises to remind me about it. The same can be said for altruism. It is still there, regardless of whether something happens, and the feel-good factor is independent of the trait itself.

To end, I would like to present this scenario. When a person sees someone drowning, and he jumps in to save the victim, he will almost certainly regret it later, when both of them are safe on the shore, and the victim has been sent off to some other place. Our hero will be cold, wet and miserable, he’ll probably have forgotten to take out his hand phone, name cards, and anything else that couldn’t survive the water. Chances are, it’ll be hours later before he can get a fresh change of clothing and a nice bath. The feel-good factor that comes after is certainly not worth the loss. He would have been better off donating blood for the feel-good factor. I do know for a fact, that should he ever happen across another drowning victim, he’ll still jump into the water without thinking, though perhaps he’ll take out his hand phone this time. Because it is the right thing to do.