CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

Altruism Could Exist: A Quick Analysis from Different Realms

The question of altruism seems to be one that has been unanswered since the dawn of philosophy. The actual term „altruism‟ did not exist until Auguste Comte first used it in the 1830s to describe what he believed to be a moral obligation to place others‟ benefit over one‟s own interests. With the new sciences and values that have emerged since Comte, the possibility of altruism as a valid ethical theory has been approached from many different viewpoints. To understand whether altruism is a possible ethical theory and how it plays a role in our ethical reasoning, we must first explore the basics of altruism as well as the different fields that have studied it.

DEFINITION

To understand whether altruism is an innate trait, whether it can exist, or even whether we are ethically obliged to uphold it, we must first define it. Accoring to Daniel Batson, Altruism is a motivational state with the ultimate goal of increasing another's welfare. If we look at the “ultimate goal” part of this equation, we realize that to increase another's welfare must be an end in itself and not just an intermediate for reaching a different goal. That is to say, if when helping another person, an alleged altruist has any other goal than increasing the welfare of the recipient, then his or her act cannot be considered altruistic. On the same idea, if a person's goal is to increase the welfare of another and any benefits onto one's self was not the intended goal but just an effect of reaching the goal, then the actions are indeed altruistic.

This definition is a bit counterintuitive as altruism is often thought to involve self- sacrifice (and the larger the sacrifice, the more altruistic the act) but this is simply not true. An act may involve self-benefit but if the motivation is towards the goal of increasing another's welfare, the intentions are considered altruistic. This thought is likely to have evolved as a way of knowing someone's intentions. That is to say that if the costs of helping or acting outweigh the rewards then it is easy for a third party to conclude that a person's intentions were motivated altruistically whether it is known to be true or not.

It is also important to understand that altruistic acts, as well as egoistic acts to increase one's own welfare, are qualitative not quantitative. This conclusion comes directly from the definition of altruism as it is categorized by a person's intentions not “how much” they intend a goal. That is to say that the ultimate goal itself, not the strength of the motive, is what distinguishes egoism from altruism.

Another distinction to discuss regarding the definition of altruism is that it is impossible for a single motive to be both egoistic and altruistic. To seek to increase one's own welfare as well as the welfare of another would indicate two ultimate goals, which in turn implies two distinct motives.

It is clear that, according to the definition, there is a distinct possibility that altruism exists. Contrary to popular belief, altruism has less to do with self-sacrifice and more to do with an agent's intentions.

EVOLUTION

While there is a possibility that altruism exists in theory, a bigger question involves the ability for altruism to be passed down through generations. Therefore, it is important to consider the evolutionary analysis of altruism. The type of fitness that Darwin referred to when he spoke of survival of the fittest (the phrase which was not actually coined by Darwin himself) referred solely to an animal's ability to reproduce. Any trait that will help an animal reproduce will be carried on in greater extents than other traits by definition alone. An altruistic act, in evolutionary terms, is an activity that promotes the fitness of the recipient at the expense of the provider. So, how could it ever be possible that a trait that decreases the fitness of an animal could actually survive over time? In a society of pure altruists, it would take only one gene of selfishness to undermine all the altruism and begin to reproduce in mass amounts.

Photo Credit: Ashley Elizabeth Rabens, All Rights Reserved

While basic evolutionary analysis would propose that altruism is impossible, there are many theories that could explain its existence. For example, being seen as an altruistic person signals to potential mates the ability to be a better parent, thus aiding reproductive success. Another argument for the possibility that altruism could have evolved in our species is that society looks poorly upon those who do not take care of altruistic agents. Showing gratitude or respect towards those that act altruistically aids social success and survival. Therefore, the recipients of altruism prosper by protecting those that act altruistically and the altruistic agent benefits by unintentionally increasing his or her fitness.

Another popular evolutionary theory to support the validity of altruism is the concept of inclusive fitness examined by W. D. Hamilton. This theory notes that altruistically sacrificing one's own fitness to aid the fitness of the group could have evolved over generations because the agent benefits from the greater fitness of the group. A good analogy is drawn from the human body where certain organs may draw resources from other organs to survive but cannot function unless the entire body is functioning. An agent that is receiving some benefits of his or her actions is not automatically egoistic because it is the intention and ultimate goal of the activity that matters as previously discussed.

In all three of these cases that explain how altruism could have been carried on through evolution, the animal may have the ultimate goal to increase another‟s welfare but still receives survival benefits. While the possibility that altruism could exist in terms of evolution is quite counterintuitive, we see here that there are many possibilities that could ensure its evolutionary success.

If altruism is treated as a trait in our genes from an evolutionary standpoint, it may or may not have a chance at survival. That being said, can an agent that does not have the “altruism gene” be held ethically responsible to act altruistically or are his/her egoistic acts ethically defensible? To answer this question, we must examine the autonomy of an individual. One's autonomy is the right to make decisions based on personal opinions and preferences. To build said opinions, a person must have memories and a form of identity, most of which is stored in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex of the brain. If there is a trait, perhaps just one nucleotide in a DNA sequence, that causes a person to act in a way that is beyond the control of his or her preferences based on experience, then the person cannot be held accountable. For example, if a person needed to stop breathing to conserve air for others in an extreme situation, that person would not be ethically blameworthy as the ability to control breathing (once the body registers low levels of oxygen) is not within the control of a person‟s autonomous decision making. So, an egoistic intention could be ethically defensible if it were controlled outside the ability of one's autonomy.

PSYCHOLOGY

While evolution examines altruism as an innate characteristic or trait, Psychology weighs more heavily on the idea that altruism is a learned habit that has no strong genetic component. Most of the psychological theories that examine altruism try to explain why a person would be altruistic and if his or her motives are actually what they believe them to be. For example, it is quite possible that a person will help another person to either gain acceptance or positive regard, in which case the acts are actually egoistical. A person may act to avoid guilt or shame, in which case he or she is acting egoistically even if the action taken to prevent this discomfort was beneficial to another's welfare. Furthermore, a person may be classically conditioned by praise from peers or authority figures to act altruistically. Even if seeing another in distress causes an agent distress and the agent then acts in a way to relieve that distress, the act is not altruistic.

The ethical issue that is presented in the psychological view of altruism is that most of these psychological processes happen on an unconscious level. Just as we discussed with evolution, if a person's actions are determined outside of the area of the brain which also processes ethical rationale, then the person's autonomy is compromised and his or her actions are ethically defensible. Therefore, it would be nearly impossible to argue that a person who acts on unknown desires would be ethically blameworthy as these desires occur at a different level than ethical reasoning. Furthermore, since the higher order brain functions of this person have intentions to better the welfare of another (even if a subconscious system has a different goal) that person's actions can still be considered to be ethically appropriate. This is because the place where the person is making ethical decisions is forming the person's intentions and he or she can only be held ethically accountable for actions that are made in ethical processing centers of the brain.

RELIGION

It seems that most religious principles are contradictory to our natural instincts. Concepts such as courage, loyalty, patience, and of course altruism, seem to go against what we believe to be human instincts according to both evolutionary and psychological theories. To speak generally about religions, the principle of how to ethically conduct oneself is based on the promise of an afterlife, a better reincarnation, or approval of some superhuman being(s). In all of these cases, we can see that a person who attempts to practice altruism in the name of one's religion is at risk for committing two different altruistic fallacies. One of these fallacies is that the ultimate goal of the agent is not to increase the well being of another but to attain religious or spiritual piety. While these are not rewards that someone would realize within a lifetime, they are still a different goal than increasing the welfare of another. In this case, the actions could not be considered altruistic. Another possible altruistic fallacy that occurs when speaking of altruism and religion is when an agent acts to uphold a principle or duty he or she believes to be right. Here, the agent's action would be neither altruistic nor egoistic because his or her ultimate goal is the adherence to a principle or command rather than the well-being of another. Therefore, in any case where a religious or spiritual person is acing to please a possible superhuman being for any reason, his or her actions are not altruistic. 

Photo Credit: Ashley Elizabeth Rabens, All Right Reserved

DEONTOLOGY

Like in religious contexts, people following the rules of deontology could be committing altruistic fallacies. The realm of deontology is a philosophical school that solves ethical dilemmas by examining a set of principles or rules that agents should follow. If a person‟s ultimate goal in

taking an action is to uphold a principle or a duty, as modeled by parents or society, the pursuit of this goal is not altruistic. Even if the adherence to the principle will benefit others, the goal is not altruistic because the beneficence of others is not the end of the goal itself. That is to say, if a person were to help an old lady cross the street because that is what is “supposed” to be done, then the act cannot be altruistic because the agent does not have the welfare of another as the ultimate goal. It is clear that altruism is just not possible when following the school of deontology as all moral decisions are made on the basis of upholding a principle or duty rather than helping others.

CONCLUSION

The most difficult part in making an ethical analysis of altruism to decide whether people should feel obliged to be altruistic is that there seems to be a vicious circle within the debate itself. To aspire to be altruistic in order to be an ethical person automatically prevents a person from being altruistic as the betterment of the welfare of another is not the ultimate goal.

While it is clear that altruism is possible since it is defined by an agent's intentions and not any unintentional consequences that may come about, we still cannot prove whether altruism actually exists. With all the possibilities for categorizing acts that benefit others as egoistic, it seems almost impossible that altruism could truly exist. Since a person can never know what the intentions of another are and may actually misunderstand his or her own intentions on a subconscious level, we cannot know if a person's actions that benefit others are unadulterated altruism.

Thank You for Thinking.

REFERENCES

Badcock, C. R. Problem of altruism Freudian-Darwinian solutions. Oxford, OX, UK: B. Blackwell, 1986. Print.

Batson, C. Daniel. Altruism question toward a social psychological answer. Hillsdale, N.J: L. Erlbaum, Associates, 1991. Print.

Chilton, Bruce D. Altruism in World Religions. Ed. Jacob Neusner. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown Unviersity, 2005. Print.

US News & World Report ranks Cape schools among best in country

Link: http://www.capecodkidz.com/news252.htm

Harwich and Nauset Regional High Schools top the national list

"If not a great education for our kids, what is the future?" - Thomas Conrad

Nauset Regional High School Principal Thomas Conrad stands in the school's "Hall of Fame" which celebrates its successes in fields ranging from academics to sports, music and the arts. Having many many paths for students to follow is one of the features which helped it earn a spot in US News & World Reports Best High Schools in America. Nauset Regional High School encompasses the towns of Brewster, Eastham, Orleans, and Wellfleet. Photo by Teresa Martin.

By Teresa Martin

Think that Cape Cod is vacation-land with little to attract full-time families with school-aged kids who are looking for good schools? Think again. US News & World Report's 2010 Best High Schools in America just named two Cape Cod high schools to its list of best in the country.

Top Grades

Harwich High School and Nauset Regional High School were two of just 21 schools in Massachusetts to be named to the list and two of only 561 schools across the country to meet the grade. The Sturgis Charter School in Barnstable also received an honorable mention in magazine's annual survey.

For All Students

The US News & World Report ranking uses a three-step process that examines how well a school serves its entire student body. It looks at not only collegebound students, but also how well average students and disadvantaged students perform.

Read this story in its entirety here.

Harwich weekly arrests include a 3rd and 2nd OUI offense

Harwich PD weekly arrests include 2nd & 3rd OUI offenses

HARWICH - During the period of Sunday, January 24 through Sunday, January 31, the men and women of the Harwich Police Department responded to 317 calls for service. The arrests and criminal complaints below are a few of those resulting from the week's activity.

Release and photos courtesy of the Harwich Police Department.

Editor's note: The information and images (mugshots) are included in this blog as a matter of public information and safety.  Inappropriate comments on this blog post will be deleted.  All individuals are innocent until proven guilty.

Girl, You Trippin'

My favorite dog, now that my border collie went to Dog Heaven... the "Roo Dat" dog from Louisiana.

"Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? Who dat? Who dat?"

Saints fans have used "Who Dat" as a rallying cry for decades, and the dog is obviously attuned to this.

Walter can borrow this for Cape Cod Pets if he wants.

My late border collie, Sloppy Dog, used to try to talk. She never barked once in her life... instead preferring to do a very cute Woo Woo Woo sound. She would often get 15-20 Woo Woos off in a row if she was particularly animated about something, with pauses for emphasis (I swear to God).

Sloppy Dog is missed very much in this house, but the Roo Dat Dog will hold me over til I go to the pound and get another mutt.

We'll talk Pro Bowl in a sec, but first we need to hear Dat Aint Ma Baby from Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco's upcoming album, Child, Please. Note the very catchy Girl You Trippin'  hook...

Today is a potentially fine Sports day. We have the Celtics taking on the Lakers at 3:30, and the Pro Bowl at 8 PM.

The Celtics have been slumping somewhat, and are in trade talks with Golden State. The rumor is Ray Allen's expiring contract for tweener guard Monta Ellis.

I was at the Portland game a week ago from last Friday, and Allen basically won it with a fat three pointer in overtime. I took pictures, but they only served to show me that my whole camera is broken, not just the viewing screen thingy.

A friend of the family literally showed up at 7 PM in Buzzards Bay with tickets for that evening's Portland/Celtics game, tipoff = 7:30. We made it there before halftime. We were sitting way up in the Heavens, but it was a lot of fun.

When I'm up in section 320, they call it "Blogger Heaven."

If you show up on time, I'd recommend parking at the 99 in Charlestown and just walking over. It should save you 20-30 dollars or so (I taught in Charlestown for a while, haven't paid to park at the Garden in a decade, and thus don't know what parking costs there). Other than the ratty bridge we had to cross from Charlestown to Boston, it was a pleasant walk.

The Pro Bowl is also a pleasant walk for the players. Unfortunately, it is a football game that is supposed to be conducted at a pace faster than "pleasant walk."

37 players declined invitations to attend the Pro Bowl, Tom Brady among them. Another player, Vikings OL Bryant McKinnie (or something spelled very much like that), was sent home after being too hungover to practice a few days in a row. If you're into athlete's Twitter pages, his was a stream of night clubs, strip joints, and basically painting Miami red.

The game itself  is an exhibition, with no reward/consequence for winning/losing. I'll watch it (the players should be heavily miked, which is always fun), but I won't be expecting any great football.

Roo... DAT!

Coast Guard assists disabled fishing vessel

Fishing vessel Maria Jo-Ann was adrift and taking on water

A Station Chatham, Mass. 42-foot rescue boat crew assisted a disabled fishing vessel 17 miles east of Chatham at 11 p.m. Saturday after the 76-foot boat with four people on board lost power.

The fishing vessel Maria Jo-Ann called Sector Southeastern New England at 9:30 p.m.to report it was adrift and taking on water in 2-to-3-foot seas. Station Chatham launched at 10 p.m. and arrived on scene at 11 p.m., and the crew passed a pump and portable radio over to the stern trawler, home ported in Boston.

The fishing boat crew were able to restore power at 12:25 a.m. and the vessel is returning to Boston today. The Chatham rescue boat stood by until 1:12 a.m. to make sure the fishing boat did not lose power again, and the Maria Jo-Ann is maintaining radio contact with the Coast Guard as it transits to port.

Two Coast Guard cutters were diverted to assist, but resumed normal operations when the fishing boat was able to maintain power. "The fishing boat had no ability to pump out water coming in, so we launched to pass them a pump and to stand by if the situation got worse," said Chief Petty Officer Charles Morgan, the operations officer at Station Chatham. "We were glad the crew was able to restore power and everybody is safe."

Courtesy of the USCG.

Take your pick Mashpees - a Casino or a Sunrise Greeting

But you aren't going to get both
What up Chuck? Don't you want the tribe to get rich?

By Walter Brooks

 Is this Chucky Green's solution?

Anyone who has lived on this sandspit a few decades knows that our Native American Mashpee Wampanoags are impossible to differentiate from the rest of the Cape's population.

They shop at the same stores, drive the same cars and trucks, send their kids to the same schools and... go to the same churches.

They don't run down to South Cape Beach to watch the sun come up any more than they still live in wigwams or hunt buffalo.

Maybe Chucky Green does, but you know Chucky, he'll do anything for a little publicity.

The Mashpee Wampanoags are Christians like most of the rest of us. They have been since the mid-1700s when they were converted and given land for the switch in what we call Mashpee today.

Roll the dice or roll your eyes

Sometime very soon the state of Massachusetts will decide who, what and where to put a few casinos.

If the tribe gets one, every one of its 1,800+ members will become very rich and very soon. The state is drowning in "red ink", and Beacon Hill sees a renewable wind energy industry as a key to survival along with casino gambling.

If the tribe kills Cape Wind and stops the state from prospering, the state will stop the tribe from propering.

If Chucky Green gets his way they'll all freeze their butts off on Cape South Beach trying to see the sunrise over Eastham.

Teen Seriously Injured in Falmouth Two-Car Head-On Crash

Two seriously hurt, 17-year-old female was taken by MedFlight helicopter to Boston 

Police are criminally citing a 21-year-old Falmouth man for causing the accident

FALMOUTH - A 17-year-old female from Bourne and an unidentified male in his early 20s were injured in a head-on crash on Brick Kiln Road in Falmouth early Sunday morning, January 31, 2010, around 1 a.m.

According to a Falmouth Fire Department official on the scene, both people sustained serious injuries in the crash.

The conditions of Clorissa Ann Decosta-Hicks, 17, of Bourne and Edmund Lopes III, 21, of East Falmouth were not available

The 17-year-old female was taken by MedFlight helicopter to Beth Israel Hospital for treatment. Edmund Lopes III, 21, of East Falmouth was also taken to a Boston hospital and later cited for the accident.

A section of Brick Kiln was closed in both directions for several hours as police investigators reconstructed the scene.

Photos and video by David G. Curran.

Indoor Birdwatching; Odds stacked against Middleboro casino; Storm takes out Ptown seawall; Baker's bucks bring rebukes; Brown wows Falmouth; Fireman dies in Vineyard fire

TODAY's quote: "I've proven in the past that I can't be bought, but Baker's for sale. It comes as no surprise to me that my opponent was able to raise $90,000 from folks in the health-care industry. What surprises me is that he hasn't raised more."
- Christy Mihos.

Koko the Short-haired Oriental kitten loves to birdwatch. Photo by Marina Brooks.

Storm takes out seawall in East End of Provincetown

The seawall protecting a house in the far East End of Provincetown collapsed during a storm last week that brought high winds and tides.

The recent full Wolf Moon brought high tides that engulfed the fallen wall. And neighbors in the area were concerned about the tides' affect on their seawalls... Banner.
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Scott Brown brings the house down in Falmouth
Thousands waited in the bitter Falmouth cold last night for a chance to catch a glimpse of "rock star" Sen.-elect Scott Brown as he continued his victory lap tour of the state into the night, organizers said.  
   "It's a madhouse," said Scott Bauer, who organized the Falmouth portion of Brown's cross-state victory tour. "This is amazing. The fire department is here now. They're here with the building department saying we gotta get these people out of here. He's a superstar, its unbelievable."... Herald.

Charlie Baker's bucks draw rebukes from Dems, GOP rival

Rivals slammed GOP gubernatorial candidate Charles D. Baker for taking nearly $100,000 from the health-care industry, accusing the former Harvard Pilgrim honcho of being part of the problem, not the solution, to skyrocketing premiums...

The Herald reported yesterday that Baker's campaign war chest - laden with $90,000 from hospitals, HMOs and drug firms - could sink his chances of catching the anti-Obamacare wave that swept Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate...

Cape Cod convenience store magnate and GOP gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos also blasted Baker for his health-care campaign dough... Herald.
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Fireman dies in fire on Vineyard

Authorities say a fire at a home on Martha's Vineyard has killed a 63-year-old man. State fire marshal Stephen D. Coan says the fire started about 5 a.m. Saturday in the man's house in West Tisbury. Investigators have determined the fire was accidental.
   Assistant West Tisbury fire chief John Early tells the Martha's Vineyard Times that the victim was Daniel Prowten, a former town firefighter. He says Prowten was with the department for more than 30 years... WCVB.

Odds stacked against Middleboro casino
Fall River meeting casts doubt on Middleboro project

Mark Belanger of Middleboro, a member of CasinoFacts, answers his phone, "casino killer."

"The casino is a dead deal, I've thought that for quite a while," Belanger said...

The tribe is downplaying the meeting.  "It was just one meeting around the time the mayor was sworn in," said Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe spokesman Joe Ganley, who called reports of the meeting "overblown."

But it is enough for Belanger, who is calling on Middleboro selectmen to "kill this deal once and for all"... The Enterprise.

Pipe burst at Falmouth elderly housing complex

Over 20 residents have been displaced as a result of flooding on several floors 

Firefighters blame the extreme cold weather for the rupture

FALMOUTH - Up to 20 apartments at the Harborview Apartment complex on Scranton Avenue in Falmouth,  were severely damaged after a pipe reportedly burst in the ceiling Saturday afternoon, January 30, 2010.

Over 20 residents have been displaced as a result of flooding on several floors.

Falmouth firefighters believe the extreme cold may have contributed to the burst water pipe.

Photos and video by David G. Curran.

Huskies Frolic in Yarmouth

These Siberian Huskies love the outdoors.

Deep in the woods of Yarmouth these Siberian Huskies were practicing for sled duty. Steve Lucas helps guide the 4 huskies through the woods, tethered to a scooter rather than a sled. This group happily pulled a sled during the recent snow, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the outdoors. They were a young, lively bunch, ready to offer a cold snout and friendly greeting!

If you spot them deep in the woods-stand clear!

They just might kill you with cuteness.  :)