Altruism: A Human’s Capacity for Good

We may live in a cruel cruel world, but altruism is a glimpse at something deeper

We are all so intimately connected whether we’d like to be or not. Though, let me take a moment to define what aspect of connection I’d like to focus on specifically- the internet. Which is generally considered the most one dimensional, non substantial way that we can connect with each other; we have the ability to share as much or as little of our lives to anyone with an internet connection, and with that, we have the ability to peer into the superficial reflections of people and communities all over the world.

Not too long ago, the news we had access to, was localised; now the news is inescapably globalised; and by news, I mean the movement of information, particularly information about us, people. I know I’m not alone when I say that one of the consequences of such a globalised landscape of information, is that it raises a question that has been bouncing around my head in all sorts of forms. What is a human’s capacity for bad? I don’t necessarily mean in a philosophical way, although I’m no stranger to that rabbit hole. I mean the little thoughts and feelings that secretly turn into the beliefs we have about people, ourselves and the world we occupy; how do we really feel about humans collectively?

My brother and I are several years apart in age. We share parents, but we don’t exactly share childhoods. One thing that sets us apart is our beliefs about humanity. In the same way children of addicts will tend to either become the addict or orient their lives in such a way, they become anything but the addict; my brother sees the scale of a human’s ability to be much heavier towards a capacity for bad whereas I tend to see the weight favour the capacity for good. I’m not using comparison to delineate who’s right or wrong, I’m using it simply to note that each human has a different concept of a human’s capacity for anything, but right now, let’s talk about a human’s capacity for good.

There’s a particular term in psychology that explores that; altruism. If you gave that a goog, it would read:

altruism

/ˈaltrʊɪz(ə)m/

noun

disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.
"some may choose to work with vulnerable elderly people out of altruism"

You have experienced this yourself, whether someone’s shouted you a coffee at a drive through or you’ve had an organ donated to you. I’m sure if you took a moment to reflect, you’d hopefully notice how many good things happen to you, that could be attributed to someone else’s kindness, and how much kindness you gift to others, that you might not even be conscious of. My brother buys me takeout every weekend, my nana would donate blood every chance she got, and I could write forever and still not be able to capture my mum’s altruistic nature.

But why do we do these things? I don’t profess to know the answer to that outside of my own reasonings but I do believe it’s unique to the individual, even if there’s some underlying common thread.

Humans are simply not meant to comprehend all of ‘The Horrors’ of the world, we would be bedridden of overwhelm at the sheer weight of it all, some of us already are. It feels hopeless and breeds helplessness. We can, acknowledge the horrors exist and choose to act out of altruism because of and in spite of the existence of such unnecessary suffering. This is how I choose to respond; which I believe is a very noble but very unspoken and silent act of protest. One that happens in our hearts and is gifted to those around us.

If we build a system, we can trust that humans will reflect the consequence of living within that system. We do not see more altruism in the world, because our system does not encourage its existence. Our world, does not feel like a very friendly world at times, and you would be forgiven, like my brother, for not thinking very highly of humans and what we have created. A highly individualised, hierarchal, for-profit structure does not leave much room for the indomitable human spirit and its unbounded hunger for connection, and yet, somehow, it does.

I don’t believe my kind nature is separate from the cruelty of the world, I believe it is in part, a consequence of it. I am kind because it feels good to be kind, but I am also kind because I know the deep depths of experiencing a lack of it; we all do. My kindness is a response to the unkind world. I do not want you, whoever you are, to experience anything within a human’s capacity for bad, though I know it is inevitable so to combat the inevitable, I choose to have disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others, because you know what? It’s not that selfless as I know with each moment of protest, I am closer to building a system that I’d rather live within, though a perk of such a system is that it will be one that supports us all; a community based, non-hierarchal, for-people structure, if you will.

You are a human on this earth, it is whether the power structures acknowledge it or not, your birthright to experience humanity’s capacity for good. Do not let the powers that be, convince you that our capacity for bad is our true human spirit. We are multi-faceted beings, we are complex, and depending on the structures and systems that we live within, we have the capacity for a whole lot of destruction, or a whole lot of creation.

I will leave you with a quote.

“When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.

When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realise the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realise that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.”