The Altruism Spiral : An Integrated Model for a Harmonious Future

This chapter provides an in-depth vision regarding altruism. It describes it as a collective vital strength, which is contemplated as a mental attitude by the authors – Lawrence Soosai Nathan and Antonella Delle Fave – it is considered to spiral in ways that have an impact upon society. The authors address current debates in what concerns definition clarification and bring forward visions from evolutionary biology and social psychology. To answer the debate, they propose that we move away from the customary worldview of a binary system – the one that includes the interaction process between two entities that are considered present in altruism, the ‘self’ and ‘the other’ – and adopt an interconnectedness perspective. This perspective views altruism as a mind-set and not just a behaviour, where other-oriented acts of concern for their welfare, even engaging to the point of sacrifice, also bring well-being to the agent while promoting connections. The centrifugal movement is linked with a plethora of benefits, although culturally diverse, the reason why the authors defend its promotion.