The Reason for Altruism
Hello STEEMIT community!
Today, we’re going to discuss the reason for altruism, as opposed to the guilt we talked about yesterday.
Last time, we said that many Caucasians from European imperialist countries established NGOs and donated much due to their guilt of pushing other continents into poverty. Although that may be true, there is another theory that claims good deed is a result of an individual’s desires rather than being a result of an era.
This famous theory, as you may well know, is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Dr. Maslow (1908-1970) claimed that a hierarchy of needs exists, with the more basic needs at the bottom. If and only if the lower level needs are satisfied, then the individual can desire to fulfill the next need.
From the bottom, the order is, physiological, safety, belonging and love, esteem, and self-actualization.
However, one not well-known fact is that in his later years, much after his pyramid became widely accepted, Dr. Maslow added another level above self-actualization, self-transcendence. “Transcendence refers to the very highest and most inclusive or holistic levels of human consciousness, behaving and relating, as ends rather than means, to oneself, to significant others, to human beings in general, to other species, to nature, and to the cosmos” (Farther Reaches of Human Nature, New York 1971, p. 269). According to him, altruism is one of the ways to achieve self-transcendence.
Seeing that some of the richest people in the world work hard to donate and help others, have they already fulfilled their self-actualization and looking for ways to fulfill their next step?
Do you think this theory has merit? Good deed may result from a variety of motivations, but regardless, does it help society? Also, once individuals have fulfilled all their pyramid needs, do you think it’s a natural desire to help others?
Let us know what you think in the comments!
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