Philosophy Circle Discussion: Choose Altruism

It seems that we live in a world where our problems are too big and too many to solve. We’ve been taught that in order to be happy and successful, we need to pursue self-interest to the exclusion of all other concerns. Too many of us reach only for what is in front of our face to satisfy our most immediate urges through material gain. Maybe it seems easier to live the “small” life occupied with only our personal concerns.

Thanks to studies of American psychologist Tim Kasser, author of The High Price of Materialism, we now have statistics that suggest that individuals who concentrated their existence on wealth, image, social status and other materialistic, extrinsic values promoted by consumer society are less satisfied with their existence.

But there is another choice we can make if we have the imagination and courage to do so. It is the way of Altruism. Instead of hyper-competitiveness, we can choose cooperation. Instead of a mean-spirited and vengeful attitude, we can choose goodness and benevolence. Instead of living a self-centered life disconnected from those around us, we can choose a life filled with empathy, compassion and selflessness even to the point of self-sacrifice. Instead of limiting our concerns to what is good for us, we can express a willingness to contribute to the common good. We can choose to exchange materialistic values for human values if we expand our understanding of possibilities.

Join us as we share our thoughts on how altruism can ennoble soul and just maybe make a difference in the world in which we all live.

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