altruism
Altruism is unselfish concern for others' welfare, shown in help given at a cost to oneself; in biology, behaviour that benefits others at the helper's expense.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Definitions
- A settled attitude of caring about the good of others and being willing to put their needs ahead of one's own interest.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - A particular act or pattern of conduct that helps another person without expecting payment, praise or any return.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - In biology: behaviour of an animal that increases the survival or reproduction of others of its kind while lowering its own.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - In ethics: the view, associated with Auguste Comte, that the interests of others should be the main aim of moral action, as opposed to egoism.
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Examples
- Neighbours described his altruism as quiet and practical: he shovelled snow for every elderly resident on the street.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - Researchers asked whether donating blood is pure altruism or partly a way of feeling good about oneself.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - Warning calls that draw a predator toward the caller are a classic puzzle in the study of animal altruism.
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Usage
In everyday English altruism names a quality of character more often than a single deed. People speak of someone's altruism when they want to praise a habit of generosity, such as volunteering, donating money or helping strangers in trouble. The word sounds more formal than kindness or generosity, so it appears often in journalism, speeches, academic writing and discussions of charity, medicine and public service.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)The idea of cost is central. Holding a door open is polite, but few writers would call it altruism; giving a kidney to a stranger or rescuing someone from a fire clearly is. For this reason the noun is often paired with words that stress sacrifice or purity, as in pure altruism, genuine altruism or selfless altruism, while sceptics talk about apparent altruism when they suspect a hidden benefit to the giver.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Biologists use the term in a narrower, technical way. An act counts as altruistic if it raises the reproductive success of another individual and lowers that of the actor, whatever the animal intends. Explanations of such behaviour often rely on kin selection, where help goes to relatives who share genes, and on reciprocal altruism, where favours are returned later. Economists and psychologists also study effective altruism, a movement that asks how to do the most good with limited resources.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Webster's 1913 dictionary defines altruism as regard for others, both natural and moral, devotion to the interests of others and brotherly kindness, and sets it against egoism or selfishness. It even marks the word as recent, a reminder that it entered English only in the nineteenth century. A person who acts this way is an altruist, the adjective is altruistic and the adverb is altruistically.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Word forms
Regular forms according to English morphology (editorial description); the noun is mostly used without a plural.
word forms
| przypadek | forma |
|---|---|
| singular | altruism |
| plural | altruisms |
Word forms: Editorial team
Collocations
- pure altruism
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - reciprocal altruism
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - effective altruism
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - an act of altruism
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address) - out of altruism
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Synonyms · Antonyms
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)source
Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Etymology
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W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Oxford 1910, open sourcealso
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open sourceRelated words
- altruist , agent noun
- altruistic , adjective
- egoism , antonym
- alter , related Latin word
Related entries
Questions and answers
What does altruism mean?
Altruism means caring about the well-being of others and acting to help them without expecting anything in return, often at some cost to yourself, such as time, money or safety.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)What is an example of altruism?
Typical examples are donating blood or an organ to a stranger, volunteering in a shelter, or risking injury to pull someone out of danger. What makes these acts altruistic is that the helper gains nothing obvious from them.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)Where does the word altruism come from?
It was coined in French as altruisme by Auguste Comte, from Italian altrui, meaning others, which goes back to Latin alter, meaning another. English borrowed it in the nineteenth century.
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Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)What is the opposite of altruism?
The usual opposite is egoism, putting your own interests first. Webster's 1913 dictionary already contrasts altruism with egoism and selfishness, and calls an altruist the opposite of an egoist.