Altruism

A familiar epithet in current political rhetoric is 'do-gooder'. Sometimes it is intended as a charge of arrogance, against someone who presumes themselves to be morally superior. More often, it is an insult, implying either hypocrisy or weakness on the part of an opponent. Knowingly or not, underlying these are more profound principles. In some cases, a 'do-gooder' is taken to transgress the maxim that 'God helps those who help themselves'. More generally, the fundamental premise in play is that all human conduct is ultimately selfish. On that basis, hence, some ulterior motive or other, e. g. assuaging a bad conscience, fear of public disapproval, etc., would have to underly any apparent altruistic deeds. But, those who invoke Adam Smith in asserting the Selfishness principle are mistaken, since he, along with his pal David Hume, believed that self-interest was to be coordinated with sympathy for others. Kant also rejected the exclusivity of Selfishness as the prime human motivator, arguing that Reason, as the bridge to the well-being of others, is also a natural human faculty. Still, both of these explanations as to how Altruism can be possible agree with their opponents in subscribing to a theory of Moral Atomism, namely, to the notion that one's well-being and that of others are essentially separate, even if reconcilable. In contrast, Aristotle and Nietzsche derive Altruism from Magnanimity, which means 'great-souled'; a magnanimous person is one whose scope of concern naturally transcends the self-other dichotomy implicit in Moral Atomism. Thus, from the perspective of magnanimity, the charge of 'do-gooder' that is leveled at the performer of Altruism is often an expression of small-mindedness.