People are divided into those who like to take and those who like to give. There is also a third category – the exchangers. Let’s see who’s who.
БTaking
These people like to be given. The more they give, the better. Since childhood, their parents have brought them up with the feeling that they can get everything they want, fulfilling all their desires to the best of their ability, and often beyond their abilities. As a result, such children grow up to be utter egoists who do not reckon with anyone or anything, putting their desires above all else, convinced that everyone owes them something.
Exchanging
These people try to live according to the principle “you give me and I give you,” believing that in this way they preserve the balance of social relations. Basically, they are the same selfish people who like to receive, but in return for their service, that is, with the same self-interest for themselves. Although some scholars define it as rational altruism. Rational altruism is when one’s actions are rationally balanced between personal interest and the interests of others. Such a person expects from others exactly as much as he gives to them himself.
Giving back
We usually call such people altruists. Altruism means complete and sincere self-giving for the benefit of others, expecting nothing in return. It is believed that the higher the percentage of altruists in a society, the more mature and healthy that society is. And an altruist, simply put, is a person who lives for others and enjoys it, asking nothing more in return.
Leo Tolstoy has a story about an old man who planted apple trees. When they asked him why he was doing this, as he did not have long to live, the old man replied that if he could not eat those apples himself, others would eat them and thank him.
Altruism is usually nurtured from childhood or as a result of a person’s spiritual self-development. The ancient philosophers argued that the more one is spiritually advanced, the greater one’s desire to be a giver. Socrates wrote that morality is based on the principle of “not taking but giving.
Types of altruism
Altruism is divided into several types:
– altruism is sympathetic. This type of altruism is built on empathy and empathy for others,
– altruism is moral. Immanuel Kant, the father of German psychology, wrote that the psychology of a person’s moral actions is based on conscience. Kant saw conscience as a quality that helps one fulfill one’s duty to others and even to oneself. Moral altruism obliges one to live according to one’s own conscience, which is the law,
– parochial altruism. Directed solely at those whom one considers “their own. Examples of such altruism include religious communities in which members show love and concern for their fellow human beings, but are completely out of touch and not directed toward people who are not members of their society,
– rational or reasonable altruism. When a person expects as much in return as he put in, that is a rational balance,
– effective altruism. The basis of effective altruism is a person’s desire and aspiration to improve the lives of those around him from every action he takes, that is, to make a positive impact on the world around him.
Still, scientists have proven that there is no such thing as absolute altruism. There is always a greater or lesser degree of selfishness mixed in with it, since one is born selfish, it is one’s nature. For psychological balance, one is always complemented by the other and a middle line is created, the most harmonious state in nature.
True altruism
A Canadian biologist who studied the nature of stress came to the conclusion that selfish altruism is the basis of the ethics of human relations.
True altruism, on the other hand, can only emerge in us under the influence of love for one’s neighbor.
From my own experience, altruism, among other things, is a great cure for depression. When you help someone who needs your help, you forget all about your problems, and depression just as easily disappears.
So let us love our neighbor and give kindness, joy, and care to those around us. Then we won’t have the question of whether it’s better to take or to give.
