What is altruism? This word can be often heard on TV, in colloquial speech and found on the Internet. But not everyone knows what is meant by this term.
In this article we will tell you what altruism means and in what forms it can be.
Who is an altruist
Altruism is the desire to help other people and take care of their well-being without demanding anything in return. Thus, an altruist is a person who is ready to sacrifice his own interests for the benefit of other people.
The complete opposite of altruism is egoism, in which a person cares only about his own good. It is worth noting that altruism can manifest itself in different areas.
Types of altruism
- Parental - when parents fully care for their children, and can sacrifice everything for their well-being.
- Mutual is a type of altruism in which a person helps another person only when he is firmly convinced that he will also help him in similar circumstances.
- Moral - when a person experiences sincere pleasure from the realization that he helped someone and made others happy. For example, this category includes volunteers or philanthropists.
- Demonstrative - a “fake” kind of altruism, when someone does good not at the behest of his heart, but out of a sense of duty, profit or PR.
- Empathetic - this version of altruism refers to those people who selflessly help others, because they mentally put themselves in their place, presenting all the difficulty of their situation. In simple words, they cannot ignore someone else's misfortune.
It is worth noting that altruistic behavior has negative aspects as well. This is due to the fact that quite often there are parasites who begin to mercilessly exploit altruists, taking their care for granted and not feeling obligated to them.
