Altruism and Service: Personal Experiences

For one to understand the concept and meaning of the word altruism, he or she must be able to understand the meaning and concept of egoism, morals, and ethics. Each term represents one’s desire to do what he or she believes is ethical. In this paper I will discuss and provide five scenarios describing several occasions in which I have performed a good deed to help another individual or have witnessed someone else do a good deed to help another individual.

Based on my understanding of the word altruism, it means showing concern for the well being of others. Almost every individual performs an act of altruism on a daily basic, whether the act is big or small. Here is three examples of my opinion on altruism, a person in front of you at the supermarket is twenty cent short of purchasing a quart of milk and you pay it, and as you are leaving the store in a hurry, a woman is walking behind you pushing her grocery cart and you stop to hold the door, a person falls into a lake accidentally and a strangers jumps in to rescue that person even though he or she cannot swim. This means that the person has risked his or her life to save another without thinking of his or her own safety.

There are many definitions for the term altruism, and each definition describes different ways individuals think about the relevance of one’s behavior. Some individuals have argued that altruism has nothing to do with an individual performing an act of kindness or good will toward others. In fact, there are many who argue that it is impossible for altruism to exist. The reason is because; they believe that when people perform an act of kindness they also have an alternative motive, whether it is to feel good about themselves, to receive something in return or ...

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...o unto you. Almost every individual has heard or been taught that this was the golden rule. Based on my understanding of altruism I believe that it does exist to a certain extent. I also agree with some of the psychologists who argue that most individuals who perform an act of altruism have alternative motives, whether the act is to make the person feel good about his or herself or because the person wants to receive a pat on the back or maybe the person has a guilty conscious. I came to these conclusions after evaluating my own scenarios.

In conclusion I have discussed and provided five scenarios describing several occasions in which I have performed a good deed to help another individual or have witnessed someone else do a good deed to help another individual. While writing each scenario I realized that I perform most of the acts because I felt some type of way.