I really appreciate the warm enthusiasm of my two classes in Philosophy 171 (Ethics: Theory and Practice) in my afternoon’s lecture. Our discussion revolves on the teleological debate whether humans are by nature egoists or altruists. I feel that most of the students in my classes agree more with egoistic teleology than with altruism. This article that I wrote is meant to discuss the merits of altruism from the point of view of life. Far from the belabored yet sophisticated argument of J.L. Mackie that ethical altruism is both a logical and a phenomenological impossibility, I will endeavor to show that altruism is possible, practical, real—and humans have been doing acts of altruism all throughout their lives without even analyzing them philosophically or ever dissecting them cerebrally. This afternoon, before I started my lecture on the clash between egoism and altruism, I solemnly warned my students that these two ethical systems are powerful paradigms of looking at our actions, and as such we must be very careful in choosing what views to adopt; because our choice for one or the other will spell the way how we see ourselves and the others as they relate to us. For example, if one believes in hedonism, then great chance is that he himself will act from a hedonistic standpoint—but not only that, he will also see others as part and parcel of his hedonistic ethics. Therefore whether one looks at herself as an egoist or altruist certainly affects not just his individual appraisal of herself as egoist or altruist as the case may be: such identification as egoist or hedonist will also determine the way how he deals with others. This serious and solemn point must therefore be taken into mind before one chooses which standpoint to choose from. As of this juncture, let me now go to the main purpose of this my post, namely to show why I think that altruism is possible, and that we have been doing acts of altruism all throughout our life—until philosophical investigation spoils the broth and made us doubt if we are indeed altruists. Allow me to speak from the context of Life and let us transcend the abstruse and abstract game called philosophical analysis, for it is in the realm of a committed life and a life geared towards the societal good that ethical altruism is not just possible but truly a real way of life. Service—wholehearted selfless service—is one of the foundational pillars of our basic humanity. Altruistic loving-service is the crux of a humanistic approach to societal responsibility. Altruistic service starts out from the phenomenology of loving commitment before it is considered as a sacred duty—and this loving commitment for the “other” starts with compassion. Last year, I personally observed and keenly reflected the ordinary Filipino’s zest for service and acts of charity to the victims of super-typhoon Yolanda and the 7.5 magnitude earthquake affecting Bohol province. I have been a witness to the creative initiatives of Filipinos from all walks of life in their wholehearted effort to effectively serve the victims in these calamities, I realize that more than duty, it is altruistic compassion that motivates humans towards service. Loving-service prods us to serve our fellow humans, and loving-kindness inspires us to do something to alleviate the sufferings of humankind. Duty and reciprocity are essential pillars of service; but duty and reciprocity if taken solely as the motivating force of service, can become cold, aloof, rigid, and distant. Upon seeing the destruction wrought by super-typhoon Yolanda, even poor Filipinos willingly abstained from their day’s food just so they can give the commensurate amount of money for their day’s food to the hapless and helpless victims. I will consider it to be the height of irresponsible judgmentalism to think that there is a hidden agenda or ulterior motive why even the poorest of the poor in Cebu City and elsewhere sacrificed their basic necessities just for them to be able to share something of themselves to their fellow “kababayans” who were suffering from the destruction of the 7.5 magnitude earthquake and the super-typhoon. Even if sophisticated ethicists would contradict me in this assertion of mine, I would still dare say that it is selfless love manifesting itself in compassionate and altruistic service that becomes the human person’s virile prodder in undertaking heroic acts even to the point of personal sacrifice and eventual martyrdom. Compassionate loving-service—this is what I consider to be the true essence of being an authentic and ethical human person. As human persons, we do not just do something out of cold legalism, nor out of compulsion that arises from a rigidified view of duty. We are spontaneous, warm-hearted, and emotional beings. The feelings of love and compassion are the central emotions that characterize our “humane-ness”. A “humane” person loves to be with others. A truly humane person desires to be loving, caring, and benevolent towards others. It is but human to be charitable to the needy and to take pleasure in seeing the smile of gratefulness from the person whom we have given assistance. There is a transcendental sort of joy when one receives a “Thank you” from a hungry woman after the latter takes a bite of a loaf of bread given to her. The joy of giving is indeed the joy of living. In my encounters as participant observer of Boy Scouts undertaking their bayanihan activities and in my experience as background investigator of many Boy Scout projects across the country, I cannot control the flow of my warm tears of joy upon seeing such manifestations of selfless and compassionate service. It is delightful to see young Scouts keeping themselves awake for many nights packing up “bundles of joys” made up of foodstuffs, clothes, and hygienic necessities to offer to the victims of natural calamities. Beginning with their rounds of solicitations and culminating in the distribution of these “survival stuffs” to the needy, these Scouts had sacrificed their personal time, resources, efforts, and comforts just to be able to give their loving-service to others. Observing these self-sacrificing acts of these Boy Scouts in the prime of their youth makes me sigh with jubilant relief, murmuring to myself; “Yes, there is still hope for the youth of this country—that is, if they imbibe the lifestyle of service”. This is what I mean when I say that an altruistic ethical commitment is the way of being truly human. This is the beauty of humanity and the loveliness of seeing humans helping each other without expecting anything in return—the sheer delight in being able to give, to share, and to love others even at the expense of sacrificing one’s own comfort, luxury, and ease. Having said the above points, let us bring our reflection a little farther. Is being the wealthiest person an automatic guarantee to achieve felicity and bliss? Having achieved what we desire, is this the sure road to happiness? From my observation of the Scouts’ sweating themselves out just to serve and the resultant smiles etched on their faces upon their successful rendering of selfless service, I adjudge that the true delight of life and living is not so much in the accumulation of worldly treasures. Freedom for an authentic human being is when one can freely forfeit one’s wealth as a munificent gift of love to those in need. To own the whole world and not being able to learn the grace of generosity would be a grave bondage since one has become a slave to his mundane properties! A rich person, who selfishly clings to his wealth, and in his self-sufficiency forgets the cries of others—such a person is in perpetual shackles of ephemeral things that are simply insignificant toys carrying no eternal significance. Transcendentally speaking, an ordinary person who is joyful in his selfless acts of giving is a thousand times better than a heartless and unfeeling millionaire. Indeed, selfless giving, which is a crucial virtue of altruism sets our hearts in the proper direction—the path of humanness and compassion. A truly wealthy person is one who is able to share his blessings with those in need, and whose giving is devoid of any ulterior motives or selfish aggrandizement. Indeed, this is what makes our being human a beautiful experience—when we are feeling the joy and ecstasy of selfless giving. This bliss is also the joy of our being human as we render our compassionate service to the needy. We experience inner elation and spiritual pleasure when we give something, when we help someone in need without any consideration of resultant rewards or desire for acknowledgment and recognition. It is certainly a lovely human experience to acknowledge indebtedness and to be grateful for the service given. A plaque of recognition for community service, a medal of valor for heroism, a trophy for best in extension service; these are only added joys in service, these should not be consciously sought-of in exchange for services rendered. Awards given in recognition to our service warm our hearts but we should not permit these tokens of recognition to be the moving impetus of our service. If we do things to be recognized, all our acts would be sheer hypocrisy, these would not be acts of loving-service anymore, these would not be altruistic acts of giving; these would already become something like bank transactions, business exchanges, or venues of job promotion. If we consciously long for reciprocity for every service we have rendered, we have not truly served—we have simply dressed-up our conceit and narcissism in the guise of service. For an authentic human person, happiness comes from selfless generosity. A humane person does altruistic acts of love; and he is not interested whether his kindness will be recognized or not. An altruistic person knows that to be hungry for public applause is a great obstacle to service. If a person serves only on account of public recognition, then such a one will never do something if nobody is watching him. As soon as the bat of self-aggrandizement comes in, the dove of sincerity flies away in horror. When one is so obsessed in the search for public acknowledgment of ones’ goodness, this obsession will become another shackle of one’s freedom and availability to serve. A person who constantly hankers for recognition lives a bitter life of self-centeredness and egotism. As I already pointed out, there is nothing wrong with people appreciating somebody else’s goodness and generosity, there is nothing wrong with giving awards for an excellent service—one can of course smile in gratitude for these awards, but these should not be the objects of one’s acts of service. A genuine human being renders service out of compassion and tender regard for the needs of suffering humanity—never for a breakable trophy or for a gold-plated medal. Love alone should be the motivating force of a genuine wholehearted service. Egotism is based on the neurotic plea for unhealthy and selfish businesslike reciprocity. In contrast, selfless love is an altruistic love, a love so pure that it knows no bounds. Selfless love is unitive—it does not recognize an “I” and a “you”. It wishes for others what it desires for itself. Selfless love is unio mystica (mystical communion)—it does not distinguish the “other” as “an-other”; it sees itself in the “other” to the point of being able to give up its “all” to the “other”. Egotism is “separateness”; it is always based on the rigid duality of “mine” and “yours”. When we are selfish, there is divisiveness, separation, duplicity, and discrimination. In contrast, selfless love is a communion—a profound fellowship of heart and spirit. Deep in our being, we long for union because we are tired of living in the world of selfishness, duplicity, greedy consumerism and hate. The vigor of genuine compassion lies in the power of selfless love. Take for example the case of a Boy Scout from Lanao del Norte, Aries Canoy Espinosa, who in his tender childhood (13 years old when he died) sacrificed his promising life for the sake of other children. In 1994, Aries courageously shielded other children from an exploding grenade—and as a result he died. Aries, in his martyrdom, clearly shows that there are persons who are still willing to surrender their own lives for the sake of others. Alternatively, take the case of Valeriano Abello, a youth Scout from Leyte, who saved his barangay from being bombed by the American navy ship. During World War II, the Americans mistakenly identified his barangay as a Japanese stronghold. Risking his life, Valeriano swam towards the navy ship, asking the Americans not to bomb his village. What is the impetus of Aries Canoy Espinosa’s heroically sacrificing his very own youthful life for the sake of the other children? What is the explanation of the brave and daring act of Valeriano Abello in facing cannons and bombs just to save his village from the American volleys of fire? The answers to these questions lie in the undeniable truth of altruism. The strength of altruism is, as the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas says, lies in the fact that selfless altruistic love is shown by real people who even gave their lives for the sake others. This is the kind of love that produces martyrs and heroes despite childhood and youth. This is the kind of love that does not make a distinction between the welfare of oneself and that of another. This is the love that gladly relinquishes one’s life so that others may live—a love that knows no bounds; hence, a love that is truly free! Herein lies the force of a genuine and transcendental ethical life. When a human person can forget ones’ personal comforts and in selfless love offers his very own self for the sake of others, then and only then can he claim to be an authentic person who is able to transcend the morality of “what-is” to the ethics of “what-should-be”. Despite its stringent demand for a life of altruistic service, what makes people sacrifice their life for others? Why is it that today’s youth still want to be involved with giving-out their lives for a noble goal or cause to the point of martyrdom? For the same answer that one still wants to give his piggy-bank savings to a child dying with cancer, for the same reason that there are still warm-hearted persons who generously give their last loaf of bread to a beggar, for the equal reason that there are still many kind-hearted persons who donate their bone marrow, kidney, liver, and cornea for those in need of these organs? Why do people endure these botherations? This is because there are still persons who want to remain human and humane despite the coldness and heartlessness of this tired old world of ours. Authentic generosity is a characteristic attribute of a human person. One can never efface altruism for as long as there are persons who strive to remain “authentic persons” in this worn-out and morally dilapidated world. The more I contemplate on the mystery of our being human and strive to fathom it, the more I realize how vast and awesome the powers of goodness, compassion, and generosity are. It is altruistic love that enables a person to reconnect himself once again to his original state of pure goodness. Loving-service, authentic generosity, loving-kindness, joyful giving—these are the traits of a “humane” person. Altruism as an ethical commitment is sure to remain despite the sorry state of our selfish and materialistic world because in their heart of hearts, the peoples of the world still long for goodness and communion with other humans. Altruism brings joy and delight into people’s lives because by nature, humans celebrate the beauty of self-giving, they still believe that compassion is possible; likewise, they cherish the hope that humans can still be selfless in their dealings with fellow humans. It is altruism that points out to the rediscovery and renewal of these humane qualities. It is my fervent hope that young people, especially my Philosophy 171 (Ethics) students will take the altruistic way of life. Compassionate service, which is the life force of our authentic humanity will hopefully initiate the youth of today to the process of becoming genuinely loving persons who are deeply vulnerable and sensitive to the feelings and welfare of others. Amen, a thousand times, Amen! May it be so! (Written by Prof. Henry Francis B. Espiritu on November 3, 2014 at 6:51 PM. This present essay is largely adopted from Prof. Henry Francis B. Espiritu’s published article entitled “Scouting and Compassionate Service: An Existential Rumination” [his monograph was published in Manila by the Boy Scout Council of the Philippines National Office, October 2006; containing 15 pages].)
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 12:53:44 +0000
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