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Full Idea
By sanctifying altruism in order to reward it we make it less true, but by that means we promote its recurrence in others.
Gist of Idea
We undermine altruism by rewarding it, but we reward it to encourage it
Source
Edmund O. Wilson (On Human Nature [1978], Ch.7)
Book Ref
Wilson,Edward O.: 'On Human Nature' [Penguin 1995], p.149
A Reaction
So is my preference for not rewarding (or even noticing) altruism an anti-social tendency. The very conspicuous charity of sponsorship seems somehow inferior to the truly anonymous gift. Or super-altruism is very public, to encourage it in others?
| 5311 | If observation goes up a level, we expect the laws of the lower level to remain in force [Wilson,EO] |
| 5309 | Beliefs are really enabling mechanisms for survival [Wilson,EO] |
| 5310 | Philosophers study the consequences of ethics instead of its origins [Wilson,EO] |
| 5308 | The only human purpose is that created by our genetic history [Wilson,EO] |
| 5313 | The rules of human decision-making converge and overlap in a 'human nature' [Wilson,EO] |
| 5312 | A child first sees objects as distinct, and later as members of groups [Wilson,EO] |
| 5314 | Cultural evolution is Lamarckian and fast, biological evolution is Darwinian and slow [Wilson,EO] |
| 5315 | Over 99 percent of human evolution has been in the hunter-gatherer phase [Wilson,EO] |
| 5318 | Pure hard-core altruism based on kin selection is the enemy of civilisation [Wilson,EO] |
| 5316 | We undermine altruism by rewarding it, but we reward it to encourage it [Wilson,EO] |
| 5317 | The actor is most convincing who believes that his performance is real [Wilson,EO] |
| 5320 | It is estimated that mankind has produced 100,000 religions [Wilson,EO] |