altruism Hear it!

altruism Definition

al·tru·ism (altro̵̅o̅ iz′əm)

noun

  1. unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness
  2. 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

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  6. altogether
  7. altocumulus
  8. alto-rilievo
  9. alto-relievo
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  1. altruistic
  2. ALU
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  6. alumina
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  9. aluminium
  10. aluminize