This blog post examines the view that seemingly good altruistic actions may actually be calculated selfishness and the meaning of true good deeds through various examples.
When you live in the world, you experience all kinds of things. Horrible events like murder and sexual assault become social issues and are recorded in the news, but the shocking things that happen between people around you remain quietly in our hearts as memories in our daily lives. When you experience these things, you naturally start to think, “The world is a really selfish place. If you’re nice, you only end up getting hurt.” But ironically, there are still many altruistic people in the world. So, do altruistic people have greater advantages than selfish people? And why do they act altruistically?
Is altruistic behavior truly distinct from selfish behavior? To answer this question, we must first define the concept of “altruism.” While it may seem like an act of selflessness, it may also be a rational choice that involves a moment of calculation to gain some benefit. This may not be a pure act of helping others, but a calculated act that is done in the hope of benefiting oneself in the future. This is why the word “altruistic” does not simply mean unconditionally sacrificing oneself for others like a fool.
Let me give you an example. On the way to buy school supplies, I got a call from a friend. He said he needed to buy the supplies too, but he hadn’t bought them yet, and asked if I could buy them for him while I was out buying my own. I readily agreed, perhaps because it was on the way anyway and it wasn’t a difficult request, or perhaps because I was close with my friend and I naturally decided to help him. However, there may have been an expectation in the back of his mind that “maybe, someday, when I ask for something like this, that friend might be willing to do it.” Acting selflessly in the hope of getting something back later is called “reciprocal altruism.”
Mutual altruism does not occur unconditionally, but based on several premises. The most important of these is that the relationship is long-lasting and repetitive. The longer the relationship, the more likely it is that the other person will respond to my request later, and I will be able to reap the expected benefits. In this context, humans are more willing to be altruistic to others in close relationships. In addition, repetitive relationships provide an opportunity to evaluate each other’s behavior, making retaliation possible. If someone ignores or rejects the favor of the other person who helped them, the damage they receive may not only be limited to the relationship with that person, but may lead to more damage. This makes people in relationships carefully evaluate the favors they give and receive.
In fact, altruistic behavior is easily observed in animal societies. Wilkinson’s study of vampire bats is a prime example of how to explain reciprocal altruism. Vampire bats usually feed on the blood of large animals, and if they are unable to feed on blood, they can die within three days. In this crisis, vampire bats make an amazing choice: they share blood with each other. These are animals that live in a mutually beneficial relationship, and according to calculations, the average life expectancy of a vampire bat would be only about three years without the altruistic blood sharing. However, it is said that their lifespan can be extended to 15 years thanks to their altruistic behavior. As such, the way in which altruistic behavior even in vampire bat society helps each other survive can be seen as an instinctive form of altruism.
So, can the hypothesis of reciprocal altruism explain all the behaviors of humans and animals? In fact, we often find examples that do not fit this hypothesis in our relationships with various people in our daily lives. For example, there are aspects of unconditional love that parents show to their children or free good deeds that we receive from others that are difficult to explain with repetitive reciprocal relationships or reciprocal altruism that expects a reward. In such relationships, not just calculations of expectations or retaliation, but intangible values such as human emotions, such as affection and humanity, come into play.
Ultimately, this hypothesis is not an absolute truth that can explain all human relationships, but should be used as a tool to explain one aspect of various human relationships and psychology. As such, the hypothesis of reciprocal altruism and reciprocity is meaningful as a theoretical framework to explain some of the behaviors that occur in the complex relationships of human society, and can be seen as a perspective that helps us understand how complex and multifaceted human beings are.
