altruism Definition
al·tru·ism (al′tro̵̅o̅ iz′əm)
noun
- unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness
- Ethics the doctrine that the general welfare of society is the proper goal of an individual's actions
Etymology: Fr altruisme < It altrui or Fr autrui, of or to others < L alter, another: see alter
altruism Related Forms
al′·tru·ist noun
altruism Usage Examples
Converse of object
- show: They are capable of extreme brutality, but also show altruism.
- explain: The whole point of The Selfish Gene is to explain altruism.
- believe: It is, he believes, not altruism but self-interest that will facilitate change.
- find: On this occasion, it seems that University negotiators have found less such altruism than they hoped for.
- predict: And yet most views of human behavior would not predict such altruism.
- promote: These factors also 3 ) promote mutual altruism, and 4 ) the will to spend more time together, including outside volunteering.
Converse of subject
- motivate: Should we assume that people are motivated by altruism or self-interest?
- drive: Perhaps the key debate centers on whether giving is driven by altruism or self-centred motives.
Adjective modifier
- reciprocal: Koreans, like many Asians, believe in reciprocal altruism.
- pure: There are certainly people whose take up causes that effect people they have never met with pure altruism.
- human: Some see these shared battles as profound examples of innate human altruism.
- such: Into british pounds bridal virginity has such altruism on.
- true: True altruism too is different from ' wanting to help ' , in the ordinary sense of the term.
- genuine: Genuine altruism, then, does not require complete selflessness.
Modifies a noun
- parameter: First, the ratio ( agent hunger / 200 ) had to be more than the potential thief's altruism parameter, A i.
- trick: And there's one last trick that I didn't mention - the altruism trick.
Noun used with modifier
- meme-driven: This meme-driven altruism might even explain the popularity of activities like recycling bottles, in spite of their arguable value.
- in-group: Rule-based evolutionary models may also provide new insights into " in-group altruism, " or self-sacrifice for the welfare of close cultural relatives.
- memetic: The altruism trick A new theory of memetic altruism is proposed.
Preposition: as
doctrine: Writing in the 20th century, Rand was keenly aware of the enormous damage done by the acceptance of altruism as an ethical doctrine.
Browse dictionary entries near altruism
- ‹ altricial
- ‹ altostratus
- ‹ Altos Aloha Network
- ‹ Altoona
- ‹ altoist
- ‹ altogether
- ‹ altocumulus
- ‹ alto-rilievo
- ‹ alto-relievo
- ‹ alto-
- altruistic ›
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