Empathy and altruism
In Shane J. Lopez and C. R. Snyder (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology, Oxford, 2009, pp. 416–426
Abstract
Altruism refers to a specific form of motivation for one organism, usual human, benefiting another. Although some biologists and psychologists speak of altruistic behavior, meaning behavior that benefits another, we do not recommend this use. Such use fails to consider the motivation for the behavior, and motivation is the central issues in discussions of altruism. If one’s ultimate goal in benefiting another is to increase the other’s welfare, then the motivation is altruistic. If the ultimate goal is to increase one’s own welfare, the the motivation is egoistic. We shall use the term altruism to refer to this specific form of motivation and the term helping to refer to behavior that benefits another.
