In this blog post, we’ll explore why people choose to act altruistically despite the potential cost, and what that means for both individuals and society.
Everyone has probably acted altruistically toward others at least once in their life. (In this post, “altruistic behavior” refers to acting for the benefit of others even if it results in a personal loss.) Even in everyday life, simply riding the subway often puts us in situations where we must decide whether to act altruistically or ignore the situation and focus on our own affairs. For example, this happens when we’re sitting in a subway seat after a hard day and see someone standing in front of us who needs a seat, or when we encounter people begging for money as we exit the subway. Usually, in the first situation, unless I was truly exhausted, I would instinctively stand up and offer my seat, and in the second situation, I would often give them the loose change I had in my pocket. However, when I think about it, it’s rare for others to criticize me for not giving up my seat on the subway, and if I hadn’t given away the loose change in my pocket, I might have been able to use that money for something more directly valuable to me. Nevertheless, the reason I acted as described above is likely because I (even if unconsciously) considered the comfort or happiness others would gain, even at my own expense. So, how did you act in such situations? No, more importantly, why did you act that way? Furthermore, in the thousands of similar situations you will face in the future, do you have a reason to act altruistically?
It’s simple if you think about it straightforwardly. If you ignore a situation like the one described above, you’ve simply acted in your own interest. However, we don’t believe we have any reason or right to criticize someone who ignores such a situation. This is because everyone has different values and circumstances. Here, “circumstances” refers to each person’s individual situation. Furthermore, if you act altruistically in that situation, it would either be a natural response on your part for the sake of others, or the result of your conscious thought and action.
However, let’s think about this more deeply. Acting for one’s own sake means focusing on one’s own “interest.” It means that in that situation, you refrained from expending energy or engaging in complex thought processes and acted in a way that was more beneficial to yourself—for example, preserving your tired body so you could go home and do more homework. On the other hand, your natural behavior for others or the result of your deliberate thought and action carries a more complex meaning. First, your natural (unconscious) actions for others can be interpreted as the result of the moral and etiquette education you received, or as the result of human conscience telling you that such behavior is appropriate. We can view our respect for the elderly and our help for those in distress as following morality and etiquette, or as actions driven by our innate conscience or the guilt we would feel if we had ignored the situation. The results of thinking and acting for other reasons can be interpreted in various ways. One such reason is “my own benefit,” which refers to the image others see of me or the expectation of reciprocity. In other words, it involves anticipating how I will appear to others (whether positively or negatively—for example, gaining a good reputation or receiving disapproving glances) or expecting benefits in return from the other person for acting in that way. Another reason is for my own peace of mind, happiness, and sense of fulfillment. It means acting out of a pure desire to help others, or for the pride (derived from the other person’s happiness or gratitude) and fulfillment I gain by helping them—in other words, acting for my own happiness. Up until now, we have likely acted in our own ways in such situations, based on the reasons above or our own individual motivations. So, do we have a reason to act altruistically in the thousands of similar situations we will face in the future (including situations beyond the examples given)?
Let’s consider the reasons above as a whole. These reasons can be broadly divided into two categories. One is the reason from the perspective of “me.”
From my perspective, the reasons we act altruistically can be divided into three categories. First, it is for my own benefit. This refers to the praise from others that comes from acting altruistically, or even the respect they show, as well as the additional benefits gained by helping others. Examples include the praise I receive when I give up my seat or the reward I get when I return a lost wallet. Second, it is for the sake of my conscience. Maintaining a reasonable degree of altruism allows us to keep our conscience clear, and in doing so, we can maintain our peace of mind. For instance, this applies to situations where we return a large sum of money or a wallet to its owner without expecting a reward, even though we know it may result in a financial loss for us. If we fail to return it, we may be overcome by a sense of unease or guilt that outweighs the happiness of spending the money. Finally, one can act altruistically for one’s own happiness. This can be viewed as a more proactive form of altruism than that driven by conscience; it refers to the sense of fulfillment, pride, and ultimately happiness derived from helping others. The happiness gained through volunteer work is a prime example of this.
Another reason relates to the “social” perspective concerning others. Reasons from a social perspective can also be divided into two categories. First are etiquette and morality. These are culturally ingrained norms that require us to observe proper etiquette and act morally toward others. Second is the maintenance of relationships with others. We can consider the relationships we can sustain through altruistic behavior and the additional benefits that result from them. If I do not act altruistically, these relationships may break down, leading to emotional distress and a loss of benefits.
We act altruistically for the five reasons mentioned above, and these are also the reasons why we should act altruistically. Let’s apply this to the situation known as “free-riding.”
We often see free-riders around us. Whether intentional or not, free-riding causes significant harm to others. People free-ride for various reasons: because they don’t need good grades, because they don’t care about their relationships with teammates, or simply to maintain their own freedom. However, even if one doesn’t need good grades, witnessing teammates suffer and seeing them blame oneself can lead to pangs of conscience and the loss of those relationships. Conversely, if one doesn’t care about relationships with teammates, they may not only lose their own grades—another personal benefit—but also face severe criticism from teammates and suffer disadvantages as a result. In other words, the reasons mentioned above serve as reasons not to free-ride.
Furthermore, preventing free-riding can itself be a reason to act altruistically. If good grades in the course are not necessary, one could ensure that the individual faces disadvantages in other areas later on; if relationships with teammates are not necessary, one could use a teammate reporting system to ensure they face disadvantages in their grades. This would make it easier to prevent free-riding. In other words, if the individual faces disadvantages in areas they have not given up on, they will have a reason not to free-ride, and consequently, the probability of them not free-riding increases.
To propose specific methods for preventing free-riding, we could establish a reporting system within the team and create a peer evaluation platform. The reporting system would prevent individuals from receiving good grades for free, while the peer evaluation would block future benefits derived from relationships with others and their associated advantages. However, these two methods have fatal drawbacks: false accusations and distrust. Furthermore, there may be people who choose to abandon both of these approaches. Therefore, preventing free-riding also requires measures tied to individual conscience. In other words, it would be necessary to have individuals evaluate their own level of participation and compare it with others’ evaluations.
In conclusion, we must act altruistically for the sake of our own interests, conscience, and happiness, as well as out of courtesy and to maintain relationships with others. These reasons are all interconnected, and ultimately, we can lead a happy life only when we uphold all of them. Therefore, we must act altruistically.
