Memories of the 28th Century

This matter has come to mind several times recently. It isn’t that I am altruistic, but some people have mistakenly taken me as such. There are advantages in helping others, and that is true of most animals, not just for humans. Most animals live in herds, packs, or family groups, because it is helpful to have others of one’s kind around who might be helpful sometime. Even if they don’t specifically assist, they might give some moral support.

Most recently the idea of altruism came up in regard to ambiguous title of the cookbook in the “To Serve Man” episode of Twilight Zone. I have also mentioned that cookbook in some recipes that I included in my blog and elsewhere. Remember how they managed to translate the title but couldn’t manage to make sense of the text of that book that one of them found. There were some reasons to think that the aliens were altruistic; they provided many things that improved the health of humans, and they gave free passage to the aliens’ home planet. But they were serving man as the main course of meals.

Humans sometimes think that they are being altruistic, when they are similarly providing for themselves over the long run. Doing something good for others today may lead to future benefits or even concurrent benefits. For example, I started bringing half and half to the Amherst Survival Center, because I like half and half in my coffee and I could manage the cost. Many people think that I am wonderful for being slightly generous. I didn’t do anything for others. I simply ensured that I would be able to have half and half, but a rising tide raises all boats. Others got advantage, lucky them.

On the other hand, it is written that there is a gene for altruism, which implies that there are people who do not have it. I don't know exactly how the gene would operate, but it relates to a dopamine receptor, and there is no doubt that dopamine is related to altruistic acts. So it would seem that some altruism is obligatory and is paid for with the pleasure of dopamine. Does that make it any less altruistic? I don't know. That's something that would be a matter of definition.

There is another hole in altruism that I see more often and that colors my actions. That is "enlightened self-interest". This includes doing things like me buying half and half. Some businesses are based on providing services that are in the common good that also bring wealth to the business owners. In fact, many business owners operate along these lines. They dream up something that would be good and useful to people, and people would find it advantageous to use the thing, so everyone gains advantage. Many firearms are like this. Someone invented a weapon that he promoted by saying that it would make war so horrible that no one would make war. He was mistaken, but he sold a lot of weapons on that assumption, and he probably felt horrible when he thought of all the deaths he had helped in. Enlightened self-interest used to be quite popular. Benjamin Franklin thought about his generous acts that way, and he did make money by helping others. Some of the industrialists of the 19th century believed in it, including Andrew Carnegie and other industrialists. J.P. Morgan used to make deals, mergers, acquisitions, etc. based on his concept of assisting the people in general and the country.

There can be problems with enlightened self-interest. Sometimes it isn't enlightened but just a marketing tool. If anyone used that phrase these days, I would take it as pure marketing patter, but within the last few decades people started companies with that concept; Hewlett and Packard come to mind as two men with good ideas that raised many ships. 'Tis a pity that Carly ruined that company.

I don't really know why I started writing this, except that I want to take credit for being altruistic to the point where I would assert that I am not altruistic. Most animals have a sense of "fairness", that they should be treated like all others. There have been experiments that showed quite clearly that dogs felt that way, and it has been observed among primates. I would contend that altruism is part of fairness, and both are related to the concept that there is payback for everything, Karma, cause and effect. If there is fairness of a grand scale, then I expect to get what's owed to me.


Investigating the genetic basis of altruism: the role of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism
http://scan.oxfordjournals.org/conte...an.nsq083.full

Dopamine and altruism
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...91886913004728