Altruism is a human act that is best described, defined, identified, or easily identified or easily recognised by actions and deeds, rather than by word or verbal definition. Whenever somebody does something-or carries out an act or deed that is altruistic in nature, on-lookers can easily recognise the act or deed as being genuine altruism in action or not.
Altruism does not require too much “grammar” in describing what it is and what it is not. It is by the acts, deeds and actions of particular people, exhibited towards other people, in particular circumstances, scenarios and situations, that one can label an act as altruistic or otherwise.
Not minding all that have been hitherto said, or rather scribbled out before now; altruism, in a layman’s word-or definition-simply means: “Regards for others-both natural and moral without regards for oneself.” It is also “devotion to the interests of others; brotherly kindness, selflessness.”
Wikipedia defines altruism, as the “..principle and moral practice of concern for the happiness of other human beings or other animals, resulting in a quality of life, both material and spiritual.”
Altruism, according to Wikipedia, is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core aspect of various religions, traditions and secular world views, though the concept of “others” towards whom concern should be directed and it can vary among cultures and religions.
Contrasted with egoism or selfishness, altruism, is also defined as “action, or behaviour that benefits another or others at some cost to the performer”. In an extreme case, altruism may become a synonym of selflessness, which is the opposite of selfishness.
The word, ‘altruism’, was made popular {and possibly coined} by the French philosopher, Auguste Comte, in French as “altruisme” for an antonym of egoism. He derived it from the Italian word, altrui, which in turn was derived from the Latin word, ‘alteri’, meaning “other people”, or “somebody else.”
Altruism, in biological observation in field populations of the day organisms, is an individual performing an action at a cost to themselves {e.g. pleasure and quality of life, time, probability of survival or reproduction}, but benefits either directly or indirectly, another individual, without the expectation of reciprocity or compensation for that action.
Based on all the above cited definitions of the word, altruism, one would easily associate the word with an act or action of readily “laying down one’s life” for the well-being or good of others.
Altruistic acts and deeds, however, do not all the time necessarily mean sacrificing one’s own life for others to live. In contemporary times, a little effortless act like giving alms to the poor and needy on a street qualifies as an altruistic act or deed. Also giving out of one’s old clothes or foot wears etc to needy people in the society can also qualify as an act-or action-of altruism.
Try to conjure up these images in your mind: One, rain showers are falling in a particular environment liberally. Then in a particular bird’s nest in the said environment, an adult female bird spreads out her wings over her young ones that are nestled in the said nest. The dripping rain showers drench the female, adult-mother bird. The young birds, covered under their mother’s fluffy wings, are kept dry and warm. (It is actually an altruistic action on the part of an adult, female winged bird-or hen-to spend long hours, culminating into days, incubating her eggs until the eggs hatch into young chicks).
Two: A contemporary, true life scene: A house is on fire. Some helpless children are trapped in the said house. Fire fighters arrive. A particular fire fighter breaks into the burning house and manages to save the little children. However, in the process of doing so, the boldest of the fire fighters loses his life in the act.
Three: A time of insurgency, security breaches and violent up-risings in a particular nation or region of a particular country. Citizens of the affected nation-or region that are civilians hide in fear in their homes. The citizens of the said embattled nations, who are soldiers or members of the police in the affected region, are sent out to tackle the raging insurgency or up-rising.
In both scenarios the civilian citizens of the affected area are shielded from trouble, while the uniformed personnel go out to risk their lives so that peace, harmony and orderliness will reign in the said troubled society.
Then again, conjure up a scene in your mind, whereby a particular patient in a hospital is sick and requires blood transfusion. The blood type required to save the patient’s life is a particularly rare one. The person whose blood group is compatible with that of the patient, who can serve as a blood donor, is incidentally not related to the patient in any way. In such a situation it is only genuine altruism on the part of the individual with the special blood group type that will stir such a person to donate his or her blood to save the life of a patient in a hospital bed, when both are not related to each other-biologically.
Many such emotionally touching circumstances and situations abound today, whereby many individuals are challenged to render seemingly undeserved acts of kindness to other people. At times, the people to whom one is called upon to render acts of rare kindnesses do not reciprocate the act of kindness.
On many occasions, beneficiaries of acts of kindness will not even say a “thank you” to the altruistic fellow. Not minding this stance of ingratitude on the part of many, however, whenever we are opportune to carry out altruistic acts and deeds, we should do so. Altruistic actions on our parts will ensure a safe, secure and harmonious society for all and sundry to live in.
