Concept and What is: Altruism | Psychology

The word altruism was created by Auguste Comte, French philosopher, who in 1830, the characterized it as the Group of human provisions, whether individual or collective, which lean human beings to devote themselves to others. So altruism is not synonymous with solidarity as many think, is a much broader concept. It's a concept that opposes the selfishness (inclinations specifically and exclusively individual collective or individual).

In defining comtiana altruism while virtue is the attitude to live for others. For a person to be unselfish need to master the selfish instincts which exist naturally in every human being, making emerge voluntary inclinations, which also are always present.

A selfless man acts in such a way as to reconcile your personal satisfaction with the well-being and satisfaction of your peers, your family and your community. Natural instincts of benevolence alone do not constitute the altruism. Will constitute only if the person can give the character normally. The instincts of benevolence, sporadically, emerge on human behavior. It takes a habitual State of altruism that decrease and replace continuously selfish instincts, making them less active and more controllable. This process of substitution of selfish attitudes by altruistic attitudes can be illustrated by the agricultural culture of the maize. For while the plant is born and grows constant attention is required to eradicate the weeds, however after the plants grow themselves drown out the weeds with its force.

The understanding of the concept of altruism has philosophical relevancy of referring to the provisions of the natural human being, which indicates that the human being can be good and generous naturally, without the need for divine intervention or supernatural.

Second comtiano thinking the altruism is presented in three fundamental categories: attachment, the veneration of and goodness. The direction from the attachment until the goodness, the intensity of altruism declines and, thus, their importance and their nobility increases. The attachment relates to the bond that equals have among themselves. Already the veneration refers to the bond that the weakest have to with the strongest (or the bond between those who came later to the ones who came before). And finally, the goodness, is the feeling that the strongest have vis-à-vis weaker (or those who came later).
Translated for educational purposes.
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