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Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
In an age of political animus, increasing hostility toward "others," and 24/7 media coverage that seems to focus on the negative, a recent article in Frontiers in Psychology provides a glimmer of hope, particularly for those who live in the United States.
Written by Yale University academic Gabriel Grant, "Exploring the Possibility of Peak Individualism, Humanity's Existential Crisis, and an Emerging Age of Purpose" aims to clear up two competing views of today's cultural narrative in the United States. First is the traditional view of the next generation—millennials—whom many view as individualistic, materialistic, and narcissistic. Some even refer to millennials as "Gen Me" in response to those who develop their "personal brand" with selfies and social media posts.
In stark contrast there is a view of millennials as rejecting selfish values and leading America into a "great age of purpose." Unlike previous generations, simply earning money is not enough for them—significant data shows that younger people are searching for purpose in their lives and their work. Consider the fact that the non-profit group 80,000 Hours (whose name represents the amount of time spent at work in the average lifespan) even exists. 80,000 Hours provides career advice to help young people build careers with social impact. Universities and businesses are increasingly following this path to help millennial workers achieve their goal of finding purpose in their lives.
Both sides can provide reams of anecdotal evidence that supports their view of millennials, and until recently, there have been few studies on the issue. In his article, however, Grant theorized that Google's digitization of millions of books and the Ngram Viewer, a tool that shows how phrases have appeared in books, could allow a quantified analysis of culture over the past two centuries, and he used this approach to quantitatively test the popular notion that a drive for purpose is increasing. What he found is encouraging.
Yeah, because people with a healthy ego would never possibly do volunteer work...
Source: https://opensource.com/article/17/10/rise-open-source
(Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday October 10 2017, @02:53PM (1 child)
If that's what it takes to get you through the day, go on thinking so. Even if it does make you an enormous hypocrite. Show us your altruism right now. Sell your car, your house, and empty your bank account for the starving folks in Africa. Go on, what are you waiting for? Other people matter more than you do, don't they, Mr. Altruist?
My way of thinking got the human race where it is today while yours would destroy most of the progress we've made since leaving the trees in a single lifetime.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 10 2017, @07:08PM
You seem to have a completely confused view of what altruism entails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altruism [wikipedia.org]
There is no special requirement to give away ALL of your belongings, most of them, or frankly, any of them- just that the individual is:
performing an action which is at a cost to themselves (e.g., pleasure and quality of life, time, probability of survival or reproduction), but benefits, either directly or indirectly, another third-party individual, without the expectation of reciprocity or compensation for that action.
Toss a few bucks in the charity box: Altruism
Read to blind children at the hospital: Altruism
Visit your own sick aunt at the nursing home: Altruism (unless there is some expectation that this will reflect on you more favorably in the will or similar)
Push a stroller out of traffic: Altruism
Corner a lost dog, read its tag and return to owner: Altruism
It does not require 100% commitment, 100% sacrifice, or anything of the sort. It does not even require 1% sacrifice. It does not mean you have to focus your efforts into Africa or similar, jut that you give up something of yours for the good of another without expecting DIRECT reciprocation. (Notably you can altruistically donate to a fund to make sure that inner school kids get reading and outdoor activities under the impression that this will help prevent inner city crime, which will reduce the likelyhood of anyone (including yourself) being mugged or stolen from in the inner city).
Basically if you do something to make the world a better place, even though you now live in that better place, it is still altruistic.