Over the endless cycles of generations, human life has lived up to its fundamental purpose of survival. Not only have we survived as a species, but we have evolved into the most complicated species on earth. Creatures riddled with mystery, emotion, morality; we have outdone ourselves in overcoming our basic reset function of survival. We originated in the mindset of survive and reproduce only to morph into a race rooted in emotion and intricate thought. Darwin’s theory, survival of the fittest, calculates that humans basic goal and reason of life is to survive, and reproduce; to have only ones self in mind. But why then, if natural selection filters us down to survival of the fittest, might one creature stick its neck out for another? Regardless of Darwin’s theory, we have evolved into a species in which our fundamentals are ‘good’ in nature; significantly outweighing our instinct of selfish survival. Over the years, science has been able to put the human selfish instinct to the test, and divulge the truth on why we help others.
A method of selflessness called altruism is the belief in complete lack of selfishness in exchange for genuine concern for the well being of others. One of the most famous and haunting stories of a person engulfing themselves in this way of life is George Price. Throughout his life, George Price was a fluctuating and ever changing scientist. Accepted to Harvard and the University of Chicago, he eventually obtained a doctorate degree in chemistry. Price worked on the Manhattan project, a program during World War I focusing on building an atomic bomb. He later went on to work in various fields such as computer science, psychology, politics, and eventually moved to London where he discovered his love for e...
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James Marshall attended Bristol College and is currently teaching at Sheffield College. He earned a Doctorate in Evolutionary studies, as well as has substantial experience with computer related studies. His quote further describes the Price Equation and its affiliation with genes themselves.
Weintraub, Stanley. Silent Night: The Story of the WWI Christmas Truce. New York: The Free Press, 2001. Print.
Stanley Weintraub is a professor, historian, and biographer. He spent many months in Korea, during the Korean War with first hand experience on the hardships of war. He began writing after the bombing of Pear Harbor. His telling of the events of the Christmas Truce on the western front is both enlightening and accurate. The way he phrases things causes a realization that this moment was fleeting. After all, it was in the middle of a war.
Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. Trans. A. W. Wheen. New York: Ballantine, 1982.
So to better understand the reasoning behind man's need to be in the community it is imperative to look at nature. In the wild and brutal game of life the only measure of true success is whether genes are passed on. Like any other animal this measure of success measures man's success too. For all creatures, to survive is the chance at continuing a gene line, and it is this necessity to continue the line that is innately imbedded in man and all other creatures.
Altruism regards the individual life as something one may be required to sacrifice for the sake of
The battle of the Somme was one of the most tragic battles fought during World War I. The amount of life lost on both sides was tremendous and historians everywhere agree that this battle was one of the bloodiest battles fought. With casualties upwards of a million, it is not surprising that the Somme is often referred to as the ‘bloodbath’. Historian Martin Gilbert explores the severity of the battle in his book; The Somme: Heroism and Horror in the First World War. In his book he attempts to pay tribute to the soldiers who fought and fell in the battle. To do this he uses excerpts from diary entries, letters and poetry written by the soldiers on the front lines to give the reader a first-hand account of what the soldiers were thinking and feeling while fighting. Gilbert is able to effectively portray the horror of the Somme and reduce the anonymity of the fallen by sharing stories from the soldier’s personal writings, however his book would have been more effective if he had a clear well-structured argument.
Prosocial Behavior is exhibited through actions that are directed towards the promotion of another’s well-being. Examples of these behaviors are helping, comforting, sharing, and cooperation. The term was coined in the 1970s and introduced as an antonym for “antisocial behavior.” Extensive study on prosocial behavior was conducted after an incident involving a young girl named Kitty Genovese, wherein she was murdered on her way home from work; she cried for help and although many heard her, none came to her aid until it was far too late (Cherry, 2005). This study aims to determine the students of De La Salle University who display and possess prosocial behavior as well as the reasons as to why they behave prosocially. The researchers conducted
With his provoking work entitled The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins attempts to answer such questions as he proposes a shift in the evolutionary paradigm. Working through the metaphor of a "selfish gene", Dawkins constructs an evolutionary model using a gene as the fundamental unit of selection, opposed to the more commonly accepted belief of the species as the unit of selection.
As previously stated, there is a balance to be maintained between selflessness and selfishness. Logically speaking, you would always want to help people, but overexerting yourself to try and help them solve their problems, won’t really help anyone. These ideas are expressed in Selflessness and the Loss of Self (Hampton, Jean, and Daniel Farnham). The Intrinsic Worth of Persons: Contractarianism in Moral and Political Philosophy. New York: Cambridge UP, 2007.
Remarque, Erich Maria, and A. W. Wheen. All quiet on the western front;. Boston: Little,
For many soldiers and volunteers, life on the fronts during the war means danger, and there are few if any distractions from its horrors. Each comradeship serves as a divergence from the daily atrocities and makes life tolerable. Yet, the same bonds that most World War literature romantically portrays can be equally negative. James Hanley’s “The German Prisoner”, shows the horrifying results of such alliances, while “Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemmingway reveal that occasionally, some individuals like Lieutenant Henri seek solidarity outside the combat zone. Smithy of “Not So Quiet” and Paul Baumer in “All Quiet on the Western Front” demonstrate the importance and advantages of comradeship while giving credence to the romance of these connections. Pat Barker’s “Regeneration” depicts Siegfried Sassoon, as an officer who places comradeship and honor above his own personal anti war convictions. Regardless of the consequences, each demonstrates not only the different results of comradeship but also its power and level of importance to each character in the abovementioned writings.
Selflessness is thinking of others lives and safety before what is to come upon yourself. It is hard to achieve because it means putting someone 's life on the line for other people 's.There are so many book characters out there, many are selfless in some way. However, a few stand out in the books Code Orange, Uprising and Of Mice and Men. The following characters all share the drive to save other people 's lives. In Code Orange, the character Mitty Blake is willing to kill himself to save his city from smallpox. George Milton in Of Mice and Men shows he is selfless by taking in a mentally ill man who can 't care for himself. George opens his life Lennie knowing it will change his life by not allowing him to achieve his dreams, because he has
World War I had a great effect on the lives of Paul Baumer and the young men of his generation. These boys’ lives were dramatically changed by the war, and “even though they may have escaped its shells, [they] were destroyed by the war” (preface). In Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul Baumer and the rest of his generation feel separated from the other men, lose their innocence, and experience comradeship as a result of the war.
One time, when I was around five, it was night time and I had a school project to turn in the next day, I approached my mother and told her that I needed help with my project. Of course I told her that I had to turn in the project the next day, and she proceeded to scold me for waiting until the last minute to do my work, but never the less she accepted to help me. If I had asked for help when I was five, I must have asked for help later in my life, because I’m sure I’ve needed help many times, and not only from my mother but from friends, teachers, peers, strangers, and family.
...der a man who donates to a charity. On the one hand, economically he gains nothing from this action, and this action does not contribute to his private opulence, defined by Smith as “originally derived … [from] the uniform, constant and uninterrupted effort of every man to better his condition” (205). On the other hand, a more cynical individual might say that the giver gains some kind of metaphysical or subjective return from this action that contributes to his self-interest. Smith seems to have little faith in the natural goodness of Man, writing “it is in vain for [one man] to expect [help] from [other men’s] benevolence only” (22). This pessimistic viewpoint Smith holds might explain what leads him to see self-interest as the primary factor in the actions of humanity.
Before a case can be made for the causes of altruism, altruism itself must first be defined. Most leading psychologists agree that the definition of altruism is “a motivational state with the ultimate goal of increasing another’s welfare.” (Batson, 1981). The only way for a person to be truly altruistic is if their intent is to help the community before themselves. However, the only thing humans can see is the actions themselves, and so, selfish intent may seem the same as altruistic intent. Alas, the only way that altruism can be judged is if the intent is obvious. Through that, we must conclude that only certain intents can be defined as altruistic, and as intent stemming from nature benefits the group while other intent benefits yourself, only actions caused by nature are truly altruistic.
For someone who believes in psychological egoism, i t is difficult to find an action that would be acknowledged as purely altruistic. In practice, altruism, is the performance of duties to others with no view to any sort of personal...