Question

How does the section “Egoic Altruism” (Paragraphs 3-5) contribute to the development of ideas in the text?

Answer 1

The section "Egoic Altruism", as written by Steve Taylor, contributes to the development of the ideas in the text as:

"They support the notion that humans are capable of “pure” altruism; however, the author stresses that it’s uncommon due to humanity’s selfish nature".

Explanation:

In the article, Steve Taylor tries to bring into perspective the reason of altruism, and whether or not true altruism exists or not.

The author writes about the reason as to why would anyone be motivated to do anything good without any ulterior motive, as the basic nature of humans is to safeguard themselves, before looking into the safety of others.

The paragraph was written on "Egoic Altruism" focuses on how and why humans as a species would do good deeds but at some level in their subconscious, they would have a selfish motive for the same. This may be a saint reason for wanting to go to heaven.

The paragraphs in this section build the backdrop of the selfish nature of any human, knowingly or unknowingly, and gradually Taylor develops the thought and the evidence that true altruism does exist.