BharatNotes Altruism
noun (uncountable)Usage in a UPSC answer
While the welfare state institutionalises compassion, the success of community kitchens and citizen-led relief during the pandemic showed that the altruism of ordinary Indians can complement state capacity where formal governance falls short.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
altruist (n), altruistic (adj), altruistically (adv), altruist (n), anti-altruism (n)
Root
Latin alter = other (dative alteri) → French autrui = of others; -isme suffix; coined by Comte 1830
Etymology
Coined in 1830 by French philosopher Auguste Comte from French autrui ("of or to others"), from Old French, from Latin alteri (dative of alter, "other") + -isme; introduced into English in 1853 by George Henry Lewes in his translation of Comte's works.
Memory Hook
Root hook: Latin alter = 'other' (as in 'alter ego'). An ALTRuist puts the 'ALTERnative person' — the other — before himself.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Selfless concern for another's welfare, acted on at some cost to oneself. The question an ethics paper actually asks is whether it exists, since psychological egoism argues that every apparently selfless act ultimately serves the agent, if only through the satisfaction of having helped. Two replies carry weight. The motive test asks what the agent aimed at rather than what they incidentally gained, so an accompanying good feeling does not convert an other-directed act into a self-directed one. And the empathy-altruism thesis holds that empathy generates genuinely other-directed motivation. Distinguish from these the reciprocal altruism of cooperation with an expectation of return over time, and kin altruism explained by shared descent. In administration the useful form is compassion translated into institutional design, since discretionary personal kindness is unreliable, unaccountable and unavailable to those who never meet the official.
Don’t Confuse It With
Altruism is acting for another's good at cost to oneself. Beneficence is the positive duty to do good, while non-maleficence is the narrower duty to do no harm, and the two can conflict. Philanthropy is organised giving, usually of resources rather than of self. Compassion is the feeling that motivates altruistic action, and empathy the prior capacity to perceive another's state. Psychological egoism is the standing counter-thesis that no act is ever truly selfless.
Hindi Meaning
परोपकारिता (paropakāritā) or परार्थवाद; निःस्वार्थ सेवा for selfless service.
Common Questions
- What is altruism?
- Selfless concern for the welfare of others, expressed in action that benefits another at some cost to oneself and without expectation of gain.
- How does altruism differ from reciprocal altruism?
- Reciprocal altruism involves an expectation of return over time, so it is cooperation rather than selflessness, whereas moral altruism seeks no return at all.
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