The Science & Philosophy of Altruism

I am a 30-year-old from Sydney, Australia. I currently study psychology, and I am most passionate about personal growth, well-being, creativity and gaining learning experiences from travelling the world and meeting new people.

I remember one day picking up a book titled ‘The Art of Happiness by The Dalai Lama, and Dr. Howard Cutler, who was a psychiatrist from the US, posed questions to the Dalai Lama about things like compassion and altruism, which are some of the top values in Buddhist philosophy and other philosophies alike.

Coming from a bad place emotionally, I wanted to test the information in this book — that compassion and altruism were a way to gain more happiness and fulfilment from life. This book was about marrying Eastern philosophy and spirituality with Western science and medicine, and it was done so eloquently that it sent me on a search for a new way of working and living.

I chose to set off to Cambodia, where I stayed for an extended period, working with educational NGOs and other organisations in the social impact space in Cambodia. I decided to embark on this journey to Cambodia to do this type of work because I became interested in how serving others could improve my well-being and provide my life with a sense of purpose.

This journey taught me many things about altruism, and I hope to share some of those lessons with you. Throughout this article, I will be talking about what altruism actually is, why we show acts of altruism in the first place, what Eastern and Western philosophy has to say about altruism, and how altruism can provide us with a better quality of life that is based on empirical scientific evidence.

What Is Altruism? –

So, what is altruism? — Altruism is any sort of behaviour that increases the welfare of another person, or another group of people, particularly when this behaviour doesn’t provide any reward for the person performing an altruistic act. Based on the research, altruism seems to be an inherent human trait, almost as if it is intuitive and automatic.

We show our altruism in many forms, such as when we donate blood, when we volunteer for our local community of NGO, when we stop to help someone whose car has broken down, or when we donate to charity. Psychologists have identified four types of altruism;

Genetic or nepotistic altruism — this form of altruism is based on family. One behaves in altruistic ways to benefit their close family members. An example of this is the sacrifices parents make to provide their children with a good life.

Reciprocal altruism — This is based on a give-and-receive relationship. You do something for someone knowing they will return to favour later when you need their help. This follows the old adage, “I scratch my back, you scratch mine”.

Group-selected altruism — This involves showing altruism towards people affiliated with the same group you affiliate with. An example of this is religious donations. You may donate money to your church, mosque, synagogue, temple etc.

Pure altruism — This altruism is based on one’s values and morals. It involves helping others even when there are no rewards for yourself. An example of this is when one decides to volunteer for an organisation and donate money to a cause or charity without expecting to receive something in return for their time, energy or money.

So, as you can tell, there are many different shapes and forms of altruistic behaviour, but one must beg the question — if altruism is an in-built trait of human nature, what is its purpose?

Why Do We Show Acts of Altruism?

To answer this question, we must look through the lens of an evolutionary psychologist. Altruism serves to aid in our survival as individuals, groups and the human species as a whole. In the evolutionary sense, altruism is an adapted trait we have learned throughout our evolutionary timeline. It is part of human nature because it has helped our species survive and thrive. Our ability to co-operate with one another makes human beings so dominant and successful on this earth.

Humans are pack animals, and this has always been the case. We hang in groups because that gives us the best chance to survive. You can imagine being human when we were living in hunter-gatherer societies. Dangers were lurking around almost constantly. The chances of being attacked by predators were extremely high, so belonging to a group or a tribe of people provided you with protection. Not only that, but if you were ever to fall ill or have a child, it was your tribe who was there to support you and to provide you with whatever help you required. So, the need to be part of a pack as a human being is one of the most fundamental vital traits that provide us access to the support that keeps us alive.

So, how does this have any association with altruism? — Well, if you’re to be a valuable member of any tribe, you need to be able to cooperate and think about well-being beyond the limitations of your skin. Being part of a group means adopting standard rules, shared values and shared beliefs; without those things, you don’t have a group. With common ground comes the responsibility of each individual within the group to place the importance of the entire group at the highest of priorities because what is good for the group is good for the individual. And so, altruism plays a crucial role in strengthening the ties between ourselves and the other individual members of our group. From an evolutionary perspective, altruism is that mechanism that binds individuals into a collective unit, creating the platform for the exchange of goods and services, access to resources and most importantly, access to safety.

Several evolutionary theories give us insight into why we show acts of altruism;

Kin Selection — Kin selection holds the premise that inclusive fitness enhances our reproductive success so that we can pass on our genes to the next generation. Therefore, altruistic behaviour becomes more likely to occur when it is directed towards one’s own family members or members of tribes that are perceived to be similar to us.

Reciprocity — Have you ever heard the saying, “you scratch my back and ill scratch yours”? — Reciprocal exchange is another explanation for why we show acts of altruism. It follows that if we help others now, they will return the favour should we need their help. With reciprocal exchange, we increase our chances of survival and reproductive success while helping others increase their chances of survival too.

Status and reputation — we gain status from helping others. Altruistic behaviour signals to others that we possess good personal qualities. When we behave in altruistic ways, we gain a reputation as a person with high status, and this status makes us more desirable in the

eyes of our peers. A study by Hardy and Van Vugt (2006) found that people were more likely to be cooperative rather than competitive when playing games with others when their decisions were made public rather than in private. The participants in the study who made more cooperative decisions in this game were also viewed as having higher status than the other participants.

Even in business, many companies have caught on to using altruism to build brand reputation and foster relationships with customers. Companies do a tremendous job of showing acts of altruism when they offer gifts or extras attached to their products or services — “buy this toothpaste, and you get a complimentary toothbrush”, or. “Here, buy this car, and we will throw in free floor mats and an extra year’s worth of warranty”. These are all savvy marketing strategies that build bonds between companies and consumers, triggering a response in the consumer to want to give back to the company by showing brand loyalty.

A 2004 study from the Marketing Science journal found that when companies provide promotions and free samples to their consumers, it produces measurable effects on long-term sales performance. In his book ‘Influence’, Dr Robert Caildini suggests that the first core principle of persuasion is reciprocation. Cialdini found that when restaurant owners provided their customers with a single mint with the bill, their tips increased by 3.3%; when the restaurant owners provided two mints with the bill, their tips increased by 14%. These results support the notion that altruism is a hardwired trait in human beings and that when we receive something from someone, we feel obliged to return that favour or reciprocate.

Altruism in the Brain –

Given that this behaviour is a natural human response, it is important to note that altruism starts in the human brain. Two particular parts of the brain that are associated with altruism are; the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex — regions responsible for emotion and emotion regulation. Our brain devotes part of its function towards altruistic thoughts and feelings of empathy and compassion and triggers us to behave altruistically.

One of the most prevalent neurochemicals involved in altruistic behaviour is oxytocin- the chemical of love. This chemical is so potent; it’s responsible for what binds mother to child during the very early stages of child-rearing. That child needs that oxytocin as if its life depends on it because it does. If the parent doesn’t develop love towards their child, that child doesn’t survive. But, oxytocin isn’t the only chemical involved in altruistic behaviour.

The other chemical associated with altruism is dopamine. Dopamine is the neurochemical associated with pleasure and reward. There have been scans done on both men and women which looked at brain regions where dopamine was found to be most prevalent. By tracking the dopamine pathways in the brain, neuroscientists can better understand people’s motivation for certain behaviour, as dopamine indicates when someone feels pleasure and reward. It was found that with women, the idea of giving someone a gift increased the activity of the dopamine pathways in the brain, which tells us that women feel a great sense of pleasure when they behave in altruistic ways.

While the dopamine activity also increased for men in response to altruistic thoughts, men seemed to gain more pleasure with self-reward rather than with giving to others. A general explanation is that women are slightly more altruistic than men because they usually raise children during the very early phases of a newborn’s life. Women tend to be more compassionate and empathetic, which are crucial qualities for a mother raising a newborn, as empathy and compassion shown toward young children ensure that the child gets its needs met during the very early stages of its life.

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers at the University of Zurich conducted a study where 50 participants were promised varied sums of money that they would receive in the near future. One group was told to spend the money on themselves, while the other chose to spend it on others. While this was going on, the researchers studied activity in three parts of the brain — the ventral striatum (controls happiness), the temporoparietal junction (processes generosity), and the orbitofrontal cortex (regulating decision-making processes). Surprisingly enough, the areas of the brain associated with generosity and happiness interacted intensely with those who chose to give money to others. It was said that the neural activity intensified just at the thought of giving. This study shows that performing acts of generosity is enough to boost personal happiness.

What Do The Philosophers Say About Altruism? –

I was first introduced to altruism when I began my spiritual journey. I decided I wanted to start with Buddhism. I recall why I started a spiritual journey, but I don’t remember why it was that I chose Buddhism. Besides the oriental cultural influence that I associated with the philosophy, I knew nothing about it. I had previously seen giant Buddha statues across Asia, and I associated the Buddha with joy because he was always smiling in these representations. Coming from a place of darkness, I was drawn to the joy that radiated from these representations of the Buddha. This marked the very start of my dive into Buddhist philosophy and culture.

After finishing numerous books, I began to learn more about the four noble truths of Buddhism;

1. The truth of suffering (Dukkha)
2. The truth of the origin of suffering (Samudaya)
3. The truth of the cessation of suffering (Nirodha)
4. The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering (Magga)

The first truth — life is suffering. Suffering comes in many forms, the three most fundamental forms being; old age, sickness and death. However, the Buddhists believe that it tends to go much deeper than that. The truth is that life is not ideal. Life fails to live up to our expectations, and as humans, we are subject to particular desires and cravings. Even when our desires are satisfied, it is only temporary. Shortly after, we go back to our original state of desire and craving.

The second truth — is the origins of our suffering. Besides our immediate worries, such as injury or the loss of a loved one, the deeper roots also come from; greed and desire, which the rooster represents; ignorance or delusion, which the pig represents; finally, hatred and destructive urges, which the snake represents.

The third truth — is the possibility of liberation from suffering. The Buddha was a living example that this is possible in a human lifetime. This is about Nirvana, meaning ‘extinguishing’. Attaining Nirvana means extinguishing the three fires of greed, delusion and hatred.

The fourth truth — is the Buddha’s prescription for the end of suffering. The set of principles is referred to as the eightfold path. These are a few stages that include; having the right intention with a commitment to cultivating the right attitudes, taking the right action and behaving peacefully, and cultivating positive states of mind.

Having lived in Cambodia for an extended period — a predominantly Buddhist country, I observed how their faith may have influenced their behaviours and how they operate as a society. I recall researching the benefits of showing generosity and how it can positively impact your mental and emotional health, so I set out to put this combination of newfound spiritual and scientific knowledge to the test.

I was on my way to work one morning, riding my bicycle through town, when I came to a stop at traffic light. I spotted a man sitting on the side of the road in a wheelchair. He was an older man with no legs. He sat there with a hat in his hand, signalling to those who rode passed that he was asking for donations as he was incapable of working for his own money. To begin with, this man looked poor, and the fact that he could not work meant his life was one of struggle and misfortune.

I watched closely as I spotted a tuk-tuk driver handing him some money and placing it in his hat. Suddenly, I woke from my half-sleepy state, sitting there in admiration. These tuk-tuk drivers earn an average of $10 daily, and most have families to feed. For a tuk-tuk driver to be handing out donations told me something extremely relevant to the mission I was on in learning more about how generosity works in Cambodian Buddhist society.

This wasn’t the only time I saw people who struggled financially handing out money to those less fortunate. It was a common occurrence, and I gathered that a certain mentality existed amongst the people of Cambodia, whereby those who handed out money were less concerned with having excess amounts, even though that wasn’t an option for most middle-class people. However, they saw the importance of being generous with what they had. If they had enough to feed themselves, then whatever was left over should go to someone unable to provide for themselves. In a sense, as much as you might think you are struggling, there is always someone else who is doing worse, and you must contribute to the best of your capabilities.

Some experts suggest that evolution isn’t just about the survival of the fittest but also dependent on how one can thrive in a group or a community. As a result of the Khmer Rouge genocide in the 1970s, Cambodian society was torn down to its core and forced to rebuild from almost nothing. One must see the value of working together as a community for survival. I say this for two reasons;

1. You never know when you are going to need help. Poverty and struggle are prevalent, and your support network becomes extremely important during times of strife.
2. Working as a team, combining minds and spirits far outweigh the benefits of working for yourself, especially when trying to rebuild a nation as the Cambodians are trying to do.

From a philosophical standpoint, if we go back to the four noble truths in Buddhism, we see that one of the causes of human suffering is our desires and cravings as human beings. Besides the immediate causes of suffering, illness or death, our deep-rooted causes of suffering may come from our greed. If the Buddhists believe in the liberation of suffering, it is evident why altruism is valued in their society. I concluded that acts of altruism function as a counter-weapon against greed and therefore have the potential to reduce our suffering and the suffering of those around us.

So, maybe the Buddhists were on to something. If it is true what they say, that life is suffering, and the forms of human suffering come from our own cravings and desires, then it is fair to say that through our liberation from suffering, we can use altruism as an antidote — a medicine prescribed to reduce our pain plus make the world around us a better place.

What do Western scientists have to say about the Buddha’s claims?

Altruism As A Method to Improve Mental & Physical Health –

So far, we have established altruism as a behavioural trait, looked at the basis altruism has in our brains, and looked at altruism through a philosophical lens.

It’s time to explore altruism from a medical perspective. The current research suggests that altruism has powerful healing mechanisms, can promote happiness and well-being, and even aid our longevity. The findings on altruism’s health benefits have serious implications in clinical healthcare. Due to the persuasive scientific and medical evidence, many healthcare professionals are now adopting programs for their patients that incorporate volunteerism, and the results are astounding.

Here is some of the medical evidence;

Workplace altruism — A cross-sectional survey completed by 2,682 medical students showed that most of the participants were experiencing burnout. As a result of this burnout, the medical students reported feeling a depleted sense of meaning and duty towards their society. In a separate study, healthcare professionals who volunteered in medical missions for just 2 weeks in South America reported lower levels of burnout upon their return. These effects lasted for more than 6 months. The medical students who participated in volunteerism could reconnect with the sense of meaning that came with caring for the needy.

Alcoholism — A study by Maria E. Pagano sought to examine the helping behaviours of alcoholics during periods of abstinence. The goal was to look at treatments and interventions that prevented relapse. The authors found that those who engaged in activities that involved helping others were significantly less likely to relapse in the year following the treatment. It was found that those in recovery who helped other alcoholics in recovery were 40% less likely to relapse in the year following the treatment, while those who didn’t help others were only 20% less likely. The authors concluded that helping others doubled your chances of preventing relapse from alcoholism.

Chronic Pain — Research has shown that individuals suffering from chronic pain could reduce the severity of their pain by serving as peer volunteers for others suffering from chronic pain.

Happiness — In 2008, researchers from Harvard University and the University of British Colombia studied 632 Americans and asked them to rate their happiness levels on a scale. They were also asked to report their income and expenses, outlining how much money they spent on bills, items purchased for themselves, and gifts they bought for others. The researchers found that personal spending was unrelated to happiness, but those who spent more of their money on buying gifts for others were associated with significantly higher levels of happiness.

Longevity — A study found that people who volunteered for at least 100 hours a year were two-thirds less likely to report bad health and were one-third less likely to die.

Well-being — Volunteers experience “helpers high”, reporting a 43% increase in strength and energy, a 22% decrease in anxiety and depression, a 21% increase in self-esteem and a 13% decrease in aches and pains.

Heart Health — A study from the University of California analyzed the speech patterns of 160 people and found that the more people spoke using words such as “me”, “my”, “I”, “mine”, or “myself” were more likely to experience stress-related heart attacks. Self-references were significantly correlated with heart disease. The researchers suggested that those at higher risk of stress-related heart attacks engage in altruistic behaviours that shift the focus from oneself to others because the positive emotions that result from compassion and empathy may counter the negative emotions that harm the heart.

Immunity — Harvard behavioural psychologist David McClelland found that when people watched a film of Mother Teresa, they found increases in protective antibody salivary immunoglobulin A over those who didn’t watch the film. The researcher concluded that simply watching acts of compassion, empathy and altruism strengthened people’s immune systems.

Ways We Can Show Acts Of Altruism –

We have established that altruism is an innate human trait and that we can benefit from showing acts of altruism. So, how do we put all this new knowledge to work?

There are many ways in which we can do good for others. However, I want you to keep something in mind — To perform at your best and gain the most fulfilment out of your altruism, you must choose a cause that holds some meaning to you. Committing any act of kindness is great, but thinking about yourself is also crucial. Your happiness matters too.

My advice is to work from the inside out. What I mean by that is, decide what you want first and foremost. Ask yourself questions such as;

• what do I value?
• How am I looking to grow personally?
• How am I looking to grow professionally?
• What destination interests me the most?
• What social cause do I feel most passionate about?
• In which area of humanitarianism can I make the most impact, given my skills and knowledge?

These are all critical questions to answer for yourself when engaging in any social impact project because you want to be able to bring your best self forward. You want to ensure you’re happy, passionate and enthusiastic because that’s when you will do your best work. When you bring your best foot forward, you are more likely to impact the people you work with and your personal and professional development.

Employers love to see volunteerism on applicants’ resumes, particularly with a good story. Teaching English in Vietnam, marketing for NGOs in Africa, or volunteering for eco-farms in South America — are significant experiences worth telling.

Much of philanthropy is born off the back of good social entrepreneurship. Don’t hesitate to use those skills if you have an entrepreneurial spirit. Create social media pages and document your journey via marketing and content creation. Blog, make videos and start fundraising accounts that capture your audience’s attention and invite them to your world. People are interested in other people, and if you’re travelling as a humanitarian and showcase your journey, people will want to join in and follow you. Building an audience via content creation benefits all parties; for one, you provide your audience with value. You educate them on your journey and offer them a peep into the lives of people on the other side of the world. You benefit the NGO you’re working with because you raise awareness and provide them with a pathway to receiving donations. Finally, you help yourself professionally because social media is like a digital resume.

Social media is where you record your achievements and experiences, so don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and showcase your excellent work. It’s not about virtue signalling to family and friends; it’s showing them what you’re doing and what they can do if they want to make a difference; you’re inspiring. The more people you encourage, the more people will follow your lead in participating in philanthropic causes.

So, don’t waste any more time. Start asking yourself the basic questions — what am I passionate about? what can I bring to the table? Where do I want to go? Then, get on the Worldpackers program and start your search. The people you will meet and help and the experiences you will gain will be the things you remember when you’re on your deathbed, reflecting on the incredible life you lived.

Now go out and leave your positive mark on the world.

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