Concepts and implications of altruism bias and pathological altruism Barbara A. Oakley1
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309 Edited by John C. Avise, University of California, Irvine, CA, and approved April 9, 2013 (received for review February 14, 2013) The profound benefits of altruism in modern society are self-evident. However, the potential hurtful aspects of altruism have gone largely unrecognized in scientific inquiry. This is despite the fact that virtually all forms of altruism are associated with tradeoffs—some of enormous importance and sensitivity—and notwithstanding that examples of pathologies of altruism abound. Presented here are the mechanistic bases and potential ramifications of pathological altru- ism, that is, altruism in which attempts to promote the welfare of others instead result in unanticipated harm. A basic conceptual ap- proach toward the quantification of altruism bias is presented. Guardian systems and their over arching importance in the evolution of cooperation are also discussed. Concepts of pathological altruism, altruism bias, and guardian systems may help open many new, po- tentially useful lines of inquiry and provide a framework to begin moving toward a more mature, scientifically informed understand- ing of altruism and cooperative behavior. cooperation | empathy | codependency | narcissism | philanthropy Reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled. —Richard Feynman Our eyes can be powerless against visual illusions, with our underlying neural machinery leading us to predictably er- roneous conclusions about the size or shape of an object (1). In a similar fashion, our empathic feelings for others, coupled with a desire to be liked, parochial feelings for our in-group, emo- tional contagion, motivated reasoning, selective exposure, con- firmation bias, discounting, allegiance bias, the Einstellung (“set”) effect, and even an egocentric belief that we know what is best for others, can lead us into powerful and often irrational illusions of helping (2). In other words, people’s own good intentions, cou- pled with a variety of cognitive biases, can sometimes blind them to the deleterious consequences of their actions. This dynamic of pathological altruism involves subjectively prosocial acts that are objectively antisocial. (Naturally, there are many objective per- spectives. One seemingly objective observer’s verdict of antisocial terrorism can be another’s verdict of prosocial altruism, with the words “objective,” “antisocial,” “ prosocial,” “terrorism,” and even “altruism” itself varying in meaning depending on the per- spective of the putatively objective observer.) At the core of pathological altruism are actions or reactions based on incomplete access to, or inability to process, the wide range of information necessary to make prudent decisions that align with cultural values associated with altruistic behavior. Vari- ous psychological, religious, philosophical, biological, or ideologi- cal biases could lead a person or group to misinterpret, selectively discount, or overly emphasize certain aspects of relevant in- formation. Thus, pathologically altruistic behavior can emerge from a mix of accidental, subconscious, or deliberate causes. [“Altruism,” in the context of this paper, is used to signify well- meaning behavior intended to promote the welfare of another; thus altruistic behavior may be motivated by concern for the other, egoistic concerns for the self, or both (e.g., “it makes me feel good to help them”) (3). “Pathological” is used in the sense of being excessive or abnormal, without implying any clinical diagnosis.] -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
