[from my myspace] Altruism Does Not Exist

[intro]
I used myspace.com blogs for the past few years for my randomly-spaced blogging. Therefore, I am jumpstarting my blog here with most of those blogs, lightly edited.
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Original posting: Wednesday, August 22, 2007, 10:05 PM
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When we think of altruism, we think of people selflessly helping others out of the goodness of their hearts. They put the concerns of others first, with no regard to themselves and no payback to themselves either. If we picture a world with absolute peace, we might think of pure altruism on the part of every single person on earth.

However, I am going to smash this mindset. Pure altruism does not exist. Actually, the word "pure" is a bit redundant because altruism, by definition, is pure goodness and concern for others. In being altruistic, you are already pure and good. We as people tend to try to create images of extremes to strive to, never realizing that it's impossible to do so. Sure, there are some obvious impossible extremes: God and Satan, actual black and white skin, etc.

I'll try to tackle this altruism behemoth from a few angles. First and foremost is a strawman example. We don't really do good just to do it. We do it because it'll help us later: the person/people we helped will return the favor later, the volunteer work we do will look good on our resumes, we're required to do so for a club, or we just want to make some new friends. Of course, the altruism-supporters will name examples like the Dalai Llama, Mother Teresa, and Princess Diana (maybe?) and how they volunteer their time, effort, and sometimes money for great causes.

Aren't these people altruistic, they ask me? My answer is, to an extent, they are. But their actions aren't not returned. They gain fame and prestige. They're getting something out of doing good deeds. They gain some attention. Attention is good and feels good to have, and they do something bigger next time. The cycle then continues.

My point is that you can never do anything without some form of payback. Even if you don't receive widespread fame, you still feel good about it. If you do something good and no one sees it, you will probably relate the story to a friend and say something along the lines of, "That was my good deed for the week."

In fact, this "feel good" feeling from being "altruistic" actually has a biological origin. New research is showing that the positive emotions from volunteering or so has a biochemical explanation. In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, participants' brains were under observation by MRI scans as they made decisions about donating money. Whenever they chose to do so, the brain's mesolimbic system was activated, the same part of the brain that's activated in response to monetary rewards, sex, and other positive stimuli. Additionally, the brain's subgenual area was activated, the part of the brain that produces feel-good chemicals, like oxytocin, that promote social bonding.

For example, Carolyn Schwartz, a research professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, wanted to see if receiving monthly peer-support phone calls from fellow multiple sclerosis sufferers would benefit others with the disease. But over time, a surprising trend emerged. While those receiving support appeared to gain some mild benefit, the real beneficiaries were those giving the support. In fact, those who offered support experienced dramatic improvements in their quality of life--several times more so than those they were helping.

Shocking, I know. Our society tends to associate getting things with happiness, rather the opposite way around. Why would this even happen, then?

Enter Darwin. Humans are social creatures. Thus, group selection and interaction played a role in human evolution. And so if you did something that benefited the group as a whole, it was associated with pleasure and happiness. Concern for others, therefore, stems from basic human interactions.

So altruism is inherently selfish. Selflessness is nonexistent. Let's all go be selfish ... in the "altruistic" way, of course.

Volunteer, lend an item or time to a friend or family member, donate to an organization you believe in, listen to others, and just make other people smile (because they will probably immediately return the favor).

Or, of course, you don't have to do anything. Just agree with me that altruism doesn't exist. That can be your good deed for the week. It'll put a smile on my face.