Citation

Morrison NK, Severino SK. Zygon 2007; 42(1): 25-40.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Joint Publication Board of Zygon, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-9744.2006.00802.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Altruism, defined here as a regard for or devotion to the interest of others with whom we are interrelated, is pitted against two other dispositions in human beings: nepotism and egoism. We propose that to become fully human is to become more altruistic. We describe how altruism is mediated by our physiology, is expressed in our psychological development, is evolving in our social institutions, and becomes the moral communities that enforce our sense of right and wrong. A change in any one of these influences changes our disposition—changes who we are and what we do—potentially making altruism more possible in the world.