Draft 2: Altruism, to be or not to be? The Remix Edition

This topic submitted by Benjamin Meissner, Patrick Magnifico ( Meissnbw@muohio.edu ) on 3/8/06. [ Human Nature Team: Benjamin Meissner, Patrick Magnifico-Section: Cummins/Wolfe]

Benjamin Meissner, & Patrick Magnifico
2-13-06
Altruism: to be or not to be?
1. Introduction
Altruism is one of the most fundamental aspects of human nature we have addressed in class thus far. One of the key questions surrounding altruistic behavior are the reasons behind it. Are people naturally inclined to help each other, to spend resources- time or material- on others? Or are people generally selfish, wanting to focus their resources on themselves, and those carrying their own genes? Generally speaking, we think most of us would agree that the latter is most accurate, however empirical evidence is required to make any opinion valid in the scientific community.
For this reason we will be conducting an experiment to see what influences peoples desire to help others. Our hypothesis is that if someone is primed with a positive event then they are more likely to provide help in a time of need. If this hypothesis is correct then we will see that ÒpureÓ altruism is unrealistic, and is a result of other pressures.
On a side note we would like to address the concept of reciprocal altruism. The idea of reciprocal altruism is an oxymoron. The definition of altruism is the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for others well-being. Therefore, reciprocal altruism is not altruism at all, as it is based on the idea that one good deed deserves another.
Our proposal will use an interdisciplinary approach, employing ideas from psychological, philosophical, economical, theological, biological, and sociological perspectives. We contend, that altruism is not an aspect of human nature.
A. Literature Review
I. Oliner, Samuel P. Do Unto Others Extraordinary Acts of Ordinary People, Westview, 2003
This book will be useful in providing a philosophical and psychological perspective on altruistic behavior in humans. It cites information on the altruistic behavior of children, and the works of a variety of philosophers and psychologists.
II. Sober, E. & Wilson D. S. Unto Others The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior, Harvard, 1998
This book uses a psychological approach to explain why altruistic behavior exists. It will provide insights into the evolution of altruism in human beings. This book also looks at altruism between different groups of people, between families friends etc.
III. Ozinga, James R, Altruism Praeger, 1999
This book explains the rationality of altruism from an economic perspective. It also looks at altruism as a Natrual Law, and Social instinct. This should help us look at altruism within a capitalist society as economics is its driving force.
IV. Nagel, Thomas The possibility of Altruism, Clarendon, 1970
This book will provide insight into the philosophical ideas which support altruistic behavior. Looking at altruism through Òformal aspects of practical reasonÓ. It also cites many previous philosophers and their views on altruism.
V. Stark, Oded Altruism and Beyond Cambridge, 1995
This book will employ economic methodology to look at altruistic behavior. It should also provide insight into the driving force of altruistic behavior in families, between generations, and within groups.
VI. Rand, Ayn The Virtue of Selfishness, 1961 New American Library
This work from the same other as Anthem will provide a broader understanding of the psychological and philosophical perspectives of altruism. It will also provide arguments against the idea of altruism in humans.
VII. Andreoni, James Impure Altruism and Donations to Public Goods A Theory of Warm-Glow Giving, The Economic Journal Vol. 100, 464-477 http://www.jstor.org/view/00130133/di983505/98p0025p/0 9-14-06
This online journal will provide arguments against ÒpureÓ altruism within society. Using economics as the basis for his arguments, we should see why people give for the public good (charity).
VIII. Hamilton, W.D., Altruism and Related Phenomena Mainly in Social Insects, Annual Review Journal 4041, http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.es.03.110172.001205 9-14-06
This online journal should give us a means for comparison between humans and insects and their altruistic behavior. It should also provide information relating to the information we have received in class about the rationale behind altruistic behavior in insects.
IX. Bester, W., Werner, G. Is Altruism Evolutionarily Stable Journal of Economics: Behavior and Organization, Vol 34 193- 209 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6V8F-3SX52G8-1-1&_cdi=5869&_user=2518055&_orig=search&_coverDate=02%2F15%2F1998&_qd=1&_sk=999659997&view=c&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkWb&md5=a2da17ffaa912c0267c1292888746882&ie=/sdarticle.pdf 9-14-06
This economic journal will help us look at the evolutionary plausibility of altruism. It will work as a comparison for the aforementioned text of Sober, and Wilson, who used a psychological approach.
X. Andreoni, J., & Vesterlund, L. Which is the Fair Sex? Gender Differences in Altruism, http://www.pitt.edu/~vester/QJE2001.pdf 2001
This online article will provide a look at the gender differences in altruistic behavior. The information in this article will be supplemented by the readings we did last semester in our CC class and provide a feminist perspective on altruistic behavior.
XI. Okasha, Samir, "Biological Altruism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2005 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2005/entries/altruism-biological/
This is a solid internet source from a premiere American institution, giving a biological perspective on altruism. Okasha takes a in depth look at whether or not altruism even exists.
XII. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 16 Feb. 2006 .
A must have for the generally excepted definitions of different important topics and ideas, including altruism.
XIII. Brosnahan, Timothy. "Altruism." New Advent, Catholic Encyclopedia. 16 Feb. 2006 .
This is an important source because the Catholic religion claims that they coined the phrase of altruism. It also gives a historical perspective on the origins and foundations of altruism.
XIV. Barber, Nigel. Kindness in a Cruel World. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2004.
This book takes a detailed look at the most basic form of altruism, kindness. Barber probes into altruism in different species of animals. He also discusses different theories of altruism as part of evolution and as a taught practice. The text gives a solid base for our experiment, with an in depth look at altruism among strangers.
XV. Field, Alexander J. Altruistically Inclined? Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2001.
This book is important to our research because it attempts to understand the apparent contrition between altruism and humanÕs evolutionary nature. It also focuses on whether or not altruism is truly a selfless act or is it in fact a form of selfishness. It also makes an effort to explain altruism toward blood relatives, unrelated acquaintances, and strangers. The non-related stranger will be the main focus in our experiment, so understanding these differences will be extremely relavant.
XVI. Grant, Colin. Altruism and Christian Ethics. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Due to the average student at Miami University it is imperative to have an understanding of our subjects, a majority of Miami students are Christian. This book will give us incite in to the minds of young Christians and their views on altruism. Grant argues that there is a direct link between the Christian idea of self giving love, agape, and societyÕs idea of modern altruism.
XVII. Monroe, Kristen R. The Heart of Altruism. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1996.
This text discusses many important aspects of altruism. Monroe takes a look at the enigma of modern altruism through an interdisciplinary view points; including sociocultural, economic, evolutionary biology, and psychological. The most important information will come from her investigation in to altruist acts during the Holocaust.
XVIII. Post, Stephen G., Byron Johnson, Michael E. McCullough, and Jeffrey P. Schloss, eds. Research on Altruism and Love. Philadelphia and London: Templeton Foundation Press, 2003.
This text summaries years worth of scientific studies into altruism in terms of psychology, sociology, evolutionary biology, and theology. This will help us to maintain interdisciplinary perspective while developing our experiment. It also includes detailed information about views on altruism from the major religions. The different social sciences perspectives will allow us to take an in depth look at love and altruism in the terms of love for all mankind.
XIX. Rushton, J. Philippe, and Richard M. Sorrentino, eds. Altruism and Helping Behavior. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 1981.
This book gives historical perspective on altruism through multiple disciplines including biology, developmental-psychology, and social-psychology. Because the book is a compilation of multiple authors, a broader understanding of altruism can be discovered. It also contains sections on altruism in educational settings, urban environments, and perspectives on the current level of altruism in society and itÕs future possibilities.
B. The results of our experiment, should provide a look into the feasibility of
communist society, or other governmental structures which rely on interdependence among citizens.
3. Interdisciplinary Approach
Our project employs the disciplines, of sociology, psychology, philosophy, theology, biology, and economics.
4. A Specific Research Design
For our experiment we will be looking at peopleÕs desire to help one another based on whether they were previously reinforced by a positive event, and with no reinforcement at all. We will do this by leaving a dollar bill by the exit/entrance of a building, and waiting for people- walking by themselves- to come out. If they see and pick up the dollar we will have an experimenter waiting outside to drop a pile of papers in front of the subject. We will then record whether or not they assist in collecting the papers. This same experiment will be done with and without the dollar. We will use 60 subjects 15 fe/ males with dollar, and 15 fe/males without the dollar. We will then compute the mean number of people who helped in the female group with the dollar, the male group with the dollar, the female group without the dollar, the male group without the dollar, and for males and females overall.
5. Materials and Methods
1. 40 dollars
2. Stack of papers (large enough that it would require the help of more than one individual to properly pick up in an efficient manner.)
The dollar will be used as a positive reinforcement for the subject. The stack of papers will be used to test the test subjects desire to help. We will need to work together, having one person drop the papers, and another recording whether or not the subject helped. To interpret the data we will be using the average number of people who helped pick up the papers. We will test 20 subjects a week for four weeks. We will test forty males and forty females responses to the stimulus. The test group will receive the stimulus, finding a dollar prior to the stack of papers falling to the ground, and the control group will not receive the dollar prior to the falling papers. In order to receive an unbiased response, we will test half of each group with the opposite sex and the other half with the same sex. The subjects will then be divided again, this time half will receive the stimulus, and the other half will receive no stimulus. The experiment will not require any informed consent, because the format of our experiment is an observational study. Names and other identifying characteristics, besides their sex, will not be necessary to the experiment and with not be taken into consideration.

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