Lydia+Ahn+Altruism

1. Are we, as some might say, motivated by a desire to save our off-spring? Of course we are motivated by a desire to save our offspring. We protect ourselves first so we can have children that can do the same for us later in the future. We usually want to protect our own genes first rather than saving others. 2. Must there always be some sort of intrinsic reward for doing good? Although there are not always direct awards that are given out for doing something altruistic, there are indirect awards that we gain from them that are from an act of selfishness. The article shows examples such as neurochemical awards in your brain system, the pleasure part that you experience from doing good deeds. Other awards come in as well such as pride, social reward, and lastly, the feeling of power over others by helping them. You feel stronger and in a higher position since you're helping the ones in need. 3. Mr. Otis once said, "That having integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching." If this is so, and no one knows when we have done good, would you still do good? Personally, it would depend on the situation and my mood during that time. Sometimes, I want to do good deeds because it makes me feel all tingly inside. However, at other times, usually if I'm in a bad mood, I'm too lazy and don't want to help our world. Also, in our society today, we've learned the system of reward and punishment, and without out, motivation is hard to obtain. 4. "Delayed reciprocal altruism", seems like a gamble - back to game theory, any way. Does this seem to make sense to you. That is that we act out of a desire to have what we have done being done to us? This concept/theory makes total sense in our world. Many people do things to expect something back. They want to be treated the way they want to be treated. For example, sometimes I'm nice to my friends like buying them a cookie. However, usually I expect they pay me back in some way. 5. Are we ever being truly "selfless" when committing an act of altruism? While commiting an act of altruism, although we try to make ourselves believe that we are doing something out of good will, there will always be a bit of selfishness tied in with altruism. Whether it's for our personal pride, power, or delayed reciprocal altruism, everyone has a selfish side to their good deeds.