Does Altruism Exist?

iNVESTIGATE said:

Jules Masserman (1905–1989), past president of the American Psychiatric Association, concluded in 1964 that: "A majority of rhesus monkeys will consistently suffer hunger rather than secure food at the expense of electroshock to a conspecific."

Man, took me an hour to find this.. lol



http://www.madisonmonkeys.com/masserman.pdf

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That's awesome. great find.

Oh, and the book that i found that "shit" in was 'The Moral Landscape' written by Sam Harris.. btwfyi ..


Anything i've read from this guy has just been astoundingly insightful and honestly human. Most Definitely Some Suggested Reading..

He takes on the discrepancies/bullshit of religion and the surrounding social structures from the aspect of a non-theist/atheist neuroscientist bordering on philosopher. lol Half of the time you're reading up on the studies he's referencing or people of interest he may be using as examples...

Ive been visiting this website on and off lately.. lol wish i had gotten to 'er before the video contest.. http://www.project-reason.org/

Anyone who ever said money can't buy happiness obviously never gave a homeless man a million dollars

i think that everything you do that is not instinct/reflex is a self willed action. you do it something or don't do something because you want to or don't want to. "i don't want to get hurt" (self willed- avoid pain) "i want to help that person" (self willed- gain pleasure) unless you decide something before you have time to think about it (instinct/reflex), then its self willed in my opinion. you always do what is in your best interest, if you know doing helping someone is in their best interest... all you really want to do is help that person. you have to ask yourself why. why? why do i WANT to help this person? because it makes you feeeeel gooooood. =D

Zaehet Strife said:

i think that everything you do that is not instinct/reflex is a self willed action. you do it something or don't do something because you want to or don't want to. "i don't want to get hurt" (self willed- avoid pain) "i want to help that person" (self willed- gain pleasure) unless you decide something before you have time to think about it (instinct/reflex), then its self willed in my opinion. you always do what is in your best interest, if you know doing helping someone is in their best interest... all you really want to do is help that person. you have to ask yourself why. why? why do i WANT to help this person? because it makes you feeeeel gooooood. =D

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Probably the most right answer. It might be that we are hard wired to feel good to help others. Sounds like a strong case can be made that it gave us many evolutionary advantages and is why we see it in a large part of our population.

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What prompts a human being to act heroically? What makes us perform good deeds? When we act on behalf of other people, research shows that they feel greater comfort, less stress. But what about the do-gooder's physiology — how is it affected? Can doing good make us healthier, as a growing number of scientists now believe? Can it even, as studies suggest, help us live longer?

This is the focus of 50 scientific studies funded through The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, headed by Stephen G. Post, PhD, a professor of bioethics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. It is a comprehensive investigation of altruism, aka benevolence, compassion, generosity, and kindness.