The Heart of Altruism

by Kristen Renwick Monroe

Is all human behavior based on self-interest? Many social and biological theories would argue so, but such a perspective does not explain the many truly heroic acts committed by people willing to risk their lives to help others. In The Heart of Altruism , Kristen Renwick Monroe boldly lays the groundwork for a social theory receptive to altruism by examining the experiences described by altruists themselves: from Otto, a German businessman who rescued over a hundred Jews in Nazi Germany, to Lucille, a newspaper poetry editor, who, armed with her cane, saved a young girl who was being raped. Monroe's honest and moving interviews with these little-known heroes enable her to explore the causes of altruism and the differences between altruists and other people. By delineating an overarching perspective of humanity shared by altruists, Monroe demonstrates how social theories may begin to account for altruism and debunks the notions of scientific inevitability that stem from an overemphasis on self-interest.


As Monroe has discovered, the financial and religious backgrounds of altruists vary greatly--as do their views on issues such as welfare, civil rights, and morality. Altruists do, however, share a certain way of looking at the world: where the rest of us see a stranger, altruists see a fellow human being. It is this perspective that many social theories overlook. Monroe restores altruism to a general theory of ethical political behavior. She argues that to understand what makes one person act out of concern for others and not the self, we need to ask how that individual's perspective sets the range of options he or she finds available.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

312 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 1996

About the author

Kristen Renwick Monroe is an American political scientist, specializing in political psychology and ethics.
(source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[India M. Clamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Einfuhlung unser weld und das weld ist uns. Dis bucher is nicht so schlecht Helden ist helden aber die name und gesicht ist gleich nicht.

[Kristin Lunz Trujillo · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Engaging and well written, amazing interviews. Overall I support the idea that we don't always act in self interest. However, the definition of altruism + case selection of the pure altruists seems to drive the universalism found among the altruists, rather than this being the binding underlying worldview.