Helping Others in Need: Behind Altruism

Introduction

Altruism can be defined as the behavior of an animal that is not beneficial to or may be harmful to itself but one that benefits others. For a long time, it was believed that only humans were capable of performing altruistic acts such as helping others in need but as the world progresses, we know that altruism is everywhere.

Defining Altruism and Helping Others

Perhaps the most common form of altruism is the case of a parent protecting and feeding their young. Birds will rob themselves of nutrition to regurgitate food into the gaping mouths of their children. Such behaviour goes against our natural instincts to survive yet a man will still go out of his way to help a blind man or a senior citizen cross the road. But is altruism really what it seems? Do we really help others expecting nothing in return? Then why is it that we judge others or develop a minor dislike or even the slightest thought that comes to the mind “how unthankful, he didn’t even bother to say thank you” when they refuse to be obliged to you in return for your help?

Many argue that pure altruism cannot exist, these actions may seem selfless however, they always have selfish reasons at their core. Lions will work in a pack so that they can kill an antelope even though they fully realize that they have to share the meat afterward. Their chances of survival amplify when they work together.

Culture of Helping Among Animals and Humans

Animals tend to help members of their own family. This again is not some sort of deep connection that family members share with each other but an instinct to survive. The bond that a mother shares with her child is due to survival yet again, albeit this time at the genetic level. You are more likely to give donations to your own family members while you dismiss a beggar who might be in need of much greater help. You are acting in the interest of your own genes, if not your own self. By helping a relative you actually allow your genes to be passed on and hence to survive and makes it easier to hunt down the prey.

There are exceptions to the third rule. We might give a chance to a beggar and might still sacrifice our time to help someone change a flat tire. But even this is a part of our efforts to help us survive. When we help others, we can often expect to be helped in return. This ‘ you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours ’ attitude is also found in the animal kingdom. Monkeys eat each other's ticks so that they can have theirs removed. It must be stressed that this goes on a subconscious level which is why we often misconstrued many of our own ‘kinds’ as altruism.

Conclusion

When we come to realize that even something as true and real as altruism has selfish motives behind it, we wonder can humans ever show unadulterated kindness without any expectations? With that I leave you, hoping you will continue to love your offspring and help strangers; whatever your motives may be. 

Works Cited

1. Batson, C. D. (2011). Altruism in Humans. Oxford University Press.
2. Clutton-Brock, T. H. (2009). Cooperation between non-kin in animal societies. Nature, 462(7269), 51-57.
3. Trivers, R. L. (1971). The evolution of reciprocal altruism. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 46(1), 35-57.