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Tuesday, 13 March 2007 15:12 |
| | Janese Johnson |
I read a story recently about a courageous man who jumped in front of a subway to save another life in spite of the risks. This story was so heartwarming that it gained national attention.
The hero, Wesley Autrey, was even acknowledged during the State of the Union address. I think that what he did was quite extraordinary and definitely deserved the attention that he received.
I also wonder why this act of altruism is not more common. Why is it that our culutre does not give altruism the emphasis it deserves?
We hear
more on our media about the pains and suffering in the world, and how
to get more of what you want, than we do hear about the importance of
making a difference in othersí lives.
Is altruism in our genes? Or is it something greater than that?
Perhaps an altruistic person has a sense of a bigger picture and sees
that their action is important to the greater good ó even if it does
not benefit them.
Altruism could be natural, but in our culture, people look less to the
greater good when they learn to care more for their own survival. These
questions have prompted researchers to look for an answer.
There are some scientists that claim that altruism is genetic. Certain
species have been seen to behave in ways that are more helpful to
others even at the detriment of their own survival.
It is believed that a group containing lots of altruists ó each ready
to sacrifice its own selfish interests for the greater good of the
group ó may have an advantage of survival over a group composed mainly
or exclusively of selfish animals. This is considered group selection
because the altruistic animals continue to breed altruism within their
group.
There also is an idea called kin selection. But for kin selection to
work, the altruistic animal is discerning with whom it is giving to and
it usually gives to its kin, thereby, creating a strong gene pool with
the altruistic gene in that particular species.
Another study has shown evidence that not all animals are exclusively
altruistic to their kin. Some go out of their way to give to other
species and this definitely does not seem to have an impact on their
own species group, so why would the animal want to give to another
without something in return?
In 1971, Trivers developed a theory that explains on one level why
animals might want to help another species. He called this theory
reciprocal altruism. It basically states that an animal acts out of
helping another species with an innate understanding that by helping
this species, the animal will someday receive benefits back from this
species. In the end, both species win.
Biological explanations can only explain altruism when there is a
reward in return, but true altruism is doing an act without a return or
even a thought of a any reward.
Real altruism ó as is the case with Wesley Autrey ó happens when someone gives to another without a need or desire of a return.
Such real altruism is generally more common in humans and in other
primates than it is in other species. Some scientists agree that
biological altruism cannot always be explained in these situations.
Two researchers, Dr. Warneken and Dr. Tomasello, did a study with
children as young as 18 months old. They wanted to see if children who
have not learned social skills were naturally altruistic.
In the study the adults would drop a small object as if by accident,
and a majority of the young children automatically picked up the object
for the adult. This study reveals that children seem to be born with a
desire to help others without a need for a returned reward. The study
was also conducted on other primates and the results showed that the
desire to help was there, but only with simple tasks.
With all this evidence showing that humans are set up to be altruistic,
why are we seeing more behaviors of selfishness in our culture? Is it
because the altruistic gene is not being bred in us as much, or our
culture is supporting ìmeî thinking more?
Whether altruism is genetic or learned should not be as important as
how necessary it is for us to cultivate altruism within our everyday
lives. Our world is suffering on so many levels right now, and to
ignore that will affect every one of us.
So even if giving to others without a reward feels unnatural, it is
still important. At the end of the day, being altruistic through life
is supporting the greater good for all.
Whether you are helping humans, animals, the environment ó anything
other than yourself ó you are contributing to the peace that comes from
interdependency.
ï
Janese Johnson has been doing intuitive counseling nationally for more
than 20 years. She may be contacted at janesej-at-buncombe.main.nc.us.
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