Altruism
Altruism denotes selfless thinking and action for the good of others – even when it costs one something oneself. It is the classic counter-term to egoism and a key theme in philosophy, anthropology, psychology, economics and sociology.
Origin: Auguste Comte
The term goes back to the French philosopher Auguste Comte, who around 1851 coined the word “altruisme” (from Latin alter, “the other”) – in the sense of “vivre pour autrui”, to live for others. Remarkably, Comte is at the same time the name-giver of sociology. Term and discipline thus spring from the same source and the same idea of an attitude directed towards one’s fellow human being.
An interdisciplinary field
Altruism is today researched in many disciplines – most visibly in economics and (social) psychology, while sociology, from which the term stems, contributes comparatively little in the modern discourse. Central approaches are:
- Reciprocity – help “on a mutual basis”: giving and taking support cooperation in the long term (cf. Marcel Mauss, Die Gabe; Axel Ockenfels on fairness and reciprocity).
- Altruistic punishment – people punish rule-violations even to their own disadvantage (Ernst Fehr & Simon Gächter, Nature 2002). This stabilises cooperation, but can turn into social pressure (see Collectivism and individualism).
- Evolution and development – cooperation and helpfulness as a result of kin and group dynamics (Frans de Waal; Michael Tomasello, Warum wir kooperieren).
- Philosophy – the question of genuine altruism: is selfless action possible at all, or is there always a self-interest behind it? (Thomas Nagel, Die Möglichkeit des Altruismus.)
Empirical work instead of theory?
Over the last decades the discourse has shifted markedly towards empirical research (experiments, data collection), while the theoretical foundational work – especially in sociology – has declined. From our point of view this is ambivalent: empirical work sharpens the picture, yet without theoretical placement the term threatens to lose its depth. This observation stands at the centre of the discourse analysis linked here.
In depth
A detailed, source-based analysis of the altruism discourse (analysis of disciplines and journals 1990–2013, methodology) is found in the standpoint The Development of the Discourse by Tobias O. R. Alke – an excerpt from his work Ausgewählte Perspektiven des Altruismus (2017).
Frequently asked questions
What is altruism?
Altruism denotes selfless thinking and action for the good of others – often even when it costs one something oneself. It counts as the counter-term to egoism.
Where does the term altruism come from?
The French philosopher Auguste Comte coined the term 'altruisme' around 1851 (from Latin alter = the other) – in the sense of 'vivre pour autrui', to live for others. Comte counts at the same time as the name-giver of sociology.
What is altruistic punishment?
A concept from experimental economics (Fehr & Gächter, 2002): people punish rule-violations even when the punishment brings them disadvantages themselves. This supports cooperation in groups – but can also turn into social pressure and conformity.
Is altruism always selfless?
That is disputed. Evolutionary and economic theories read many 'altruistic' actions as advantageous in the long term (reciprocity, kin help), while philosophy asks after genuine, motivationally selfless altruism.
Change history · last updated on
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Sources
- Auguste Comte: Système de politique positive (1851–1854) – Prägung der Begriffe „Altruismus“ (vivre pour autrui) und „Soziologie“.
- Ernst Fehr & Simon Gächter: Altruistic punishment in humans. In: Nature 415 (2002), 137–140. doi.org/10.1038/415137a
- Jane A. Piliavin & Hong-Wen Charng: Altruism: A Review of Recent Theory and Research. In: Annual Review of Sociology 16 (1990), 27–65. doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.16.080190.000331
- Thomas Nagel: Die Möglichkeit des Altruismus (2. Aufl. 2005). Berlin/Wien: Philo.
- Frans de Waal (Hrsg.): Primaten und Philosophen. Wie die Evolution die Moral hervorbrachte (2008). München: Hanser.
- Michael Tomasello: Warum wir kooperieren (2010). Berlin: Suhrkamp.
- Marcel Mauss: Die Gabe. Form und Funktion des Austauschs in archaischen Gesellschaften (1990). Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp.
- Tobias O. R. Alke: Ausgewählte Perspektiven des Altruismus. Kyborg Institut und Verlag, 2017. ISBN 978-3-96104-027-8. Eintrag Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Autor: Tobias O. R. Alke