The Heart of Altruism : : Perceptions of a Common Humanity / / Kristen Renwick Monroe.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press eBook-Package Archive 1927-1999
• VerfasserIn: Monroe, Kristen Renwick,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [1998]; ©1996
• Year of Publication: 1998
• Edition: Course Book
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (312 p.)

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.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- The Human Face of Altruism -- Acknowledgments -- PART I. The Importance of Altruism -- Introduction -- CHAPTER 1. The Puzzle of Altruism -- PART II. Narratives: From Self-Interest to Altruism -- CHAPTER 2. The Entrepreneur -- CHAPTER 3. The Philanthropist -- CHAPTER 4. The Heroine -- CHAPTER 5. Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe -- PART III. Traditional Explanations for Altruism -- CHAPTER 6. Sociocultural Attributes of Altruism -- CHAPTER 7. Economic Approaches to Altruism -- CHAPTER 8. Explanations from Evolutionary Biology -- CHAPTER 9. Psychological Discussions of Altruism -- PART IV. The Altruistic Perspective -- CHAPTER 10. The Altruistic Perspective: Perceptions of a Shared Humanity -- CHAPTER 11. Perspective and Ethical Political Acts: Initial Thoughts -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index