Question

What connection does the author make between empathy and altruism in human behavior? Cite evidence from the text in your response.
Story: "Why Do Human Beings Do Good Things? The Puzzle of Altruism" - by Steve Taylor​

Answer 1

Answer:

The author believes empathy and altruism are connected because pure altruism has to do with identifying with other people, sense their sufferings and respond with altruistic acts.

Explanation:

Altruism is the practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others.

In the context of this text, "Why Do Human Beings Do Good Things? The Puzzle of Altruism" by Steve Taylor​, the author tries to discover the various reasons humans can be altruistic towards others and whether humans can show true selflessness.

The author tried to make the connection between empathy and altruism as he refuses to believe the views of some psychologists about egoic altruism   which they believe that humans perform altruistic acts in order to get something back in return or to make us feel good about ourselves. Rather, he believes in pure altruism where someone perform selfless acts of service for another without expecting anything in return.

The connection between empathy and altruism is that he believes that "empathy is the root of all pure altruism. Sometimes empathy is described as a cognitive ability to see the world through another person’s eyes, but I think it’s actually much more than that."