Psychologists define altruism as a moral principle that prescribes to perform actions aimed at obtaining benefits or satisfying the interests of others, without expecting any external rewards. And the heroes of the famous Soviet cartoon explain the principle of altruism in two words - "free of charge - that is, for free!"
There are several varieties of altruism. For example, this is the love of parents for children. Sometimes it evokes admiration, sometimes disapproval, but, nevertheless, it is a fact - parents can do anything for their children. However, many scientists explain this type of behavior not only by altruism. This involves the instincts of parents to preserve their genotype at all costs. Similar altruism is common among animals. So, the female can sacrifice her life to protect the offspring.
Helping strangers is considered the most noble. It can be both anonymous donations to orphanages and orphanages, and donation of blood donations. Of course, here too, scientists have found a selfish motive for human disinterestedness: when a person helps strangers, his level of anxiety decreases, and his self-esteem rises. Altruism in relation to strangers can be in society and as a mandatory action. For example, it is customary to give way to older people on the bus, it is customary to hold the door in front of a disabled person, it is customary to take a lost child to a policeman. Such actions can even be performed unconsciously.
There is a theory that altruism is inherent in humans at the genetic level. Scientists conducted an experiment on rats, its essence was that the rodents had to hurt their fellow: when they found food, the rat sitting separately was shocked. Some of the rats immediately refused to take the bait, most of the animals, grabbing food, turned away from the sufferer, and the rest did not pay any attention to the rat under the influence of the current. Later, a similar experiment was carried out on humans (of course, the "sufferer" only pretended to be convulsing from the discharge). In both cases, the ratio of altruists, conformists and egoists was approximately the same: 1: 3: 1.
In contrast to altruism, it is customary to put selfishness - behavior determined by one's own benefit. Scientists and philosophers have long argued whether these concepts should be considered antonyms, because sometimes they are very closely intertwined. In any case, both the altruist and the egoist are pleased when their good deeds are appreciated.