Altruism in Nature
“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.”
Inter-species interactions in the animal kingdom often elicit moving yet puzzled reactions in their more human counterparts. Animal altruism—defined as an act in which an animal sacrifices its own well-being for the benefit of another animal—is well-documented behavior. Images of Koko the gorilla cuddling kittens may be the first image to flash in the mind, but stories abound of more unusual conduct in the wild including whale pods adopting a dolphin, dolphins rescuing humans, and even a deer guarding a goose nest.
This animal nature can provide a window to our own desire to help humans of other bloodlines and social groups. illuminAid certainly has this desire to assist the life quality of the poorest people on the planet, but there is a notable difference between animal and human altruism—being altruistic in the face of real danger. illuminAid’s workshops are conducted on-site, often where diseases run rampant, hygiene and sanitation doesn’t exist, and kidnappings or more atrocious crimes are the norm.
There still remains the important question of why lifeforms, human and animal alike, risk their own existence or the existence of their offspring to provide assistance to anything other than the self or immediate family. One explanation may be that there are ulterior motives that ultimately satisfy the self. Territory-intruding ravens have been known to call native rivals to share food sources in order to avoid disputes. Bats often feed roost mates who are in need, yet it appears likely that it is expected that the beneficiary will return the favor when the time comes. Expectations of food and physical survival may be an obvious reason to be “altruistic”, but it is more difficult to explain when there is no obvious benefit or reward.
It’s not a coincidence that the previously mentioned cetaceans, primates, ravens, and humans are among the most intelligent of lifeforms and have a seemingly innate ability to feel empathy. This empathetic system may be in part elucidated by more developed mirror neurons—a neuronal network that fires both when an individual acts and when the individual observes the same action performed by another. Mirror neurons assist in the ability for “theory of mind,” which is our ability to infer another person’s mental state. Theory of mind is available because we subconsciously empathize with the person we're observing and, accounting for relevant differences, imagine what we would desire and believe in that scenario.
The once subconscious empathy for the people on illuminAid’s radar has become fully conscious and has merged into a drive for effective altruism, a form of altruism described by Australian philosopher Peter Singer to be “important because it combines both the heart and the head.” Perhaps there shouldn’t be any surprise why an animal would want to help a different animal, why an animal would help a human—or a human an animal, and why a human would want to help anyone who is not ourselves. If “theory of mind” exists at all, it’s feasible we are all of the same consciousness. To care for another is to care for yourself.