Philanthropy is commonly defined as “the effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations.” More simply, philanthropy is a love of human beings in general. Reflecting on this generalized definition, I have come to realize that this very blog is a philanthropic enterprise. Free Cognition was made with the explicit purpose of spreading ideas and thoughts in order to help people become freethinkers. This is a very philanthropic goal. The question that I am pondering is why did we make this blog? Or, by in large, why does anyone feel compelled to be a philanthropist of any sort? It can be argued that we simply do this to make ourselves feel good (helping others tends to have this effect), or for some other egocentric reason. This may indeed be part of our motivation for philanthropy, but maybe there are other motivators as well.
I recently had a slightly disturbing discussion with your quintessential corporate capitalist, for who green is the only color that matters, and I am not referring to trees. I told him that I think people deserve certain fundamental human rights simply based on the fact that they are people, regardless of supposed public value or fiscal standing. He asked me, completely bewildered, “Why would you care about somebody who is ‘useless’ to society?” He argued that if somebody does not pull their respective weight in society, and thus, are “useless”, then we should not be burdened with providing them basic human needs when they are unable to do so themselves. Apparently, says the American Dream, anyone that wants to be successful can be, and anyone who is not successful, deserves the pangs of poverty. This is an outright lie.
When I speak of fundamental human rights, I am referring to basic needs that people require in order to live relatively full lives, such as education, health care, and more basically, sufficient nutrition. As humans we need these rudimentary provisions in order to live healthily and intelligently. This is an opportunity that we all deserve. What you choose to do with your life is irrelevant. These rights should be yours regardless.
As to the American Dream claim, that I aforementioned, even within the wealth of America is often impossible for some people to defeat the poverty cycle. The economic gap between the rich and the poor is gargantuan, and it is continuously becoming larger. People are in genuine need of help, and the current administration is too busy cutting taxes for persons making over $200,000 to worry about the lowest financial class of Americans. For these reasons, I find it imperative that we pick up the slack where the incompetent government has left the situation unhandled.
Why should we care about those who have very little, if we are among those who have an excess of resources and benefits? I do not propose to psychologically analyze human beings to find a reason for selfless behavior. This would lead to far too much ambiguity. Instead, I want to explain my personal reasons for being philanthropic. My hope is that this may help on a broader scale explain why some people have a desire for philanthropy, whether or not this holds true for the majority of people, I have no idea. I provide the following examples to explain why I feel that we should act philanthropically whenever possible in order to help those in need.
(ex.1) I am walking along the sidewalk and I notice a meager looking child lying on the ground. He is starving. I would feel absolutely compelled, for whatever psychological reasons, to provide some sort of nourishment for this starving child. I would bring him home with me and feed him. I am acting philanthropically
(ex.2) I balance my budget, and I realize that I have some excess money that I can use on superfluous expenses. I come across information revealing that there is a starving child in India, who I can support very cheaply and easily through an intermediary organization. I am not as compelled as I was when the starving child was directly in front of me, why is this? I strongly question this lesser state of compassion simply based on distance away form the individual in need. I must conclude that this lesser state of compassion is merely a result of an irrational tendency to pay attention to things that are near, while mindlessly ignoring that which is far. I should act as I acted in (ex.1), as I should not pay heed to an irrational tendency to ignore events that occur far away.
When I am able to aid another person’s existence, I feel compelled to do so. This is especially true when I am able to do so unscathed. I can not think of a reason not to help others when it is of little cost and effort to myself. Even when the cost or the effort becomes greater, I am hardly discouraged.As I said before, Free Cognition is a philanthropic enterprise. This blog is aimed at provoking insightful discussion that will help people think freely and see things in new and interesting ways. Freethinking is a beautiful, beautiful thing. The ability to pleasantly question things you have long taken for granted is something that should not be undervalued. The more freethinkers that arise in society, the more able society will be to help itself advance and improve as a whole. Freethinkers are able to objectively search for the best courses of action and best scenarios. Freethinkers are not limited by party line or religious affiliation or ethnic background. This is not to say that a freethinker will not enlist himself in a specific political party or religion, instead it means that freethinkers are human beings before any other labels or affiliations. You can not label a freethinker as anything besides just that—a freethinker. And so, our philanthropic goal at Free Cognition is to encourage free thought and healthy skepticism, which are very valuable personal and societal assets.
5.11.2005
on philanthropy
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
I would look askew at your statements concerning "natural human rights". By implying these rights, you are in effect trying to establish a basis for everyone else to be obligated to act in a certain manner, and as a result, "personal reasons", especially the somewhat nebulous "whatever psychological" reasons, are not nearly enough of a basis for their acceptance, and despite the words of the Declaration of Independence, neither is a claim of "self-evidence".
Since your reasons are purely subjective, I do not see why you should speak so negatively of the "corporate capitalist". His question of why one should care about a person who doesnt contribute to society, and indeed, the question of why one should care about ANY person besides oneself, is a valid one. You certainly have not provided a universal reason for doing so.
I do, however, agree with the assessment that the two examples you provide are fundamentally similar in all the ways that matter, and it is hypocritical for a person to act differently in either case based solely on "distance".
See, this is a way of thinking I have desperately grasped on to despite other ways of thinking I have had conflict with me. There are so many things about human beings that at some times disgust me. Human beings are greedy, arrogant beings that will live in dishonor, only to show their true colors when chased into a corner, where they will desperately scramble around for some overlooked power or position to abuse. If that fails, they sadly look for some proof of their existance. Not all people are generally like this, but the general feel you get from them from time to time makes my stomach want to turn not only in disgust, but in pity.
That way of thinking constantly torments the hell out of me, it really does. The reason why is that I become ridden with guilt and fear of what I could do to other people based on this way of thinking. I certainly have the capability (as does anybody else) to do so. For about seven years now (I am 20 years old now) I have been conflicted with this.
I am so thankful that I will never do anything to harm any other person, I am too afraid of living with guilt, or having any unpaid debt on my name. I even feel bad about what I said in the last few paragraphs there about humanity in itself.
Thank God though that the way of thinking that favors the preservation and covalescent care of mankind remains dominant. Thank God that I have friends like you that keep that way of thinking strong inside of me.
Goodness gracious Neil, Nietzsche would go nuts over your comment. It is one of his main points that the sort of morality and feeling of obligation to others leads great men to turn their weapons inward, to slowly eat away at their own Will with the very guilt and fear you describe until it destroys them. In fact, you are practically a character straight from "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" (which everyone should read). Were pity not one of the same self-destructive ideals, I would pity you. I would strongly suggest trying to evaluate the validity of those feelings of guilt and fear before they turn you into an empty shell. The "friends like you that keep that way of thinking strong inside of me" are, in their own ignorance, leading you down the treacherous path to oblivion. You yourself admit that you "desperately" grasped on to this way of thinking. I would ask you not to attach yourself in blind hope to a ideal just yet, but find a resolution for the "conflicts" you say you have raging within you. If youve paid attention to this post, I have already given you a place to start.
Then in that case, where do I start?
Not so bad bloggin yourself. I think I could read this all day, the posts seem to have a flow that is natural to me, not to mention the Free Thought by Oscar Wilde, About being selfish. I wonder, how does one go about not being selfish if they truly believe that the way they live is the only right way?
Live that way, suggest it to others, but do not force it on others.
People don't deserve things like education and health care. These things are privaledges that we are lucky to have, not requirements for everyone.
"It can be argued that we simply do this to make ourselves feel good (helping others tends to have this effect), or for some other egocentric reason."
Well I can honestly say my reason for helping others is not for me to feel good. It is to actually do something for others which has never had been done for me. I do favors to those who need the favors...and to those who need them, but never ask for them. It is a daily thing for me to help people, for a lot of people need help all of the time. There is never a moment of which I can remember that I havent helped someone. It is just someone that I am for simply what has happened to me in the past. And the more people I help, the more of the past me is helped in a way if anyone understands that. This is just simply what I must to, so I can carry out my purpose, of whatever it may be.
I'd just like to state that i enjoyed reading your post. I agree with you on nearly everything, unfortunetly that doesn't leave me with much to add in a comment, lol :P.
However i think your a little hard on the government, however you do have a point. I also think that this issue of distance is kinda blown outa proportion. If everyone who was well off helped people in their own neighborhood, then hopefully some form of help would be reaching out to everyone. Of coarse though, there may be area's where everyone is suffering so badly that they need more help from farther away. The point is though, there is only so much help anyone can give, if there's no difference morally between helping someone close by and helping someone farther away, then why beat urself up about not helping the one furthest awayf from you?
"education, health care, and more basically, sufficient nutrition" are all necessities if we are to become "useful" members of our societies. No one has any control over the circumstances they are born and raised in. People who fail usually fail because they don't have access to good schools, health care and nutrition.
But is it the government's (taxpayer's) obligation to provide all of these things? In a sense, yes. Governments should provide clean schools with qualified teachers and enough learning materials to go around. The government should provide universal health insurance (not socialized healthcare) to ensure that people are healthy enough to contribute to society.
But here is my dilemma. Where does societal responsibility end and personal responsibility begin? As an example, a single woman earning minimum wage chooses to have three kids with three different guys who are all losers. Do the hard working members of society really have an obligation to fund her irresponsible choices? She lets the kids watch TV all day and doesn't encourage them to read or learn. Is it the school's fault that these kids can't read or write? Is it the kids' fault that their mother brought them into the world in such appalling circumstances?
I give money to charity and I believe government should invest in our citizens. But there is only so much charity and government can do. People have to make responsible choices a well. If immigrants can come to this country with nothing, work hard and create the American dream for themselves then any American can.
http://discussreligion.tripod.com
Very interesting way to put the reason for this blog site. The main reason it is here, is that you started it lol. But, the hidden means that keep this going probably are more of a mix of motives. Some people who post think they are always right and must enlighten others with their thoughts. Others have a mere love for debate. Yet, some others are confused and question their own beliefs, others beliefs, to find what is true. Some use it to sharpen up their defenses of other beliefs, and some just for fun and enjoyment. Me... fun, debate, egotistic beliefs hehe, clarity of beliefs and to keen up on what I believe are the main mix of why I am starting to blog on here. It's an awesome site. Thanks for putting it up.
Find out how your company rates by using a little known rating system!
Is your company a Scam, Dud, Scheme, Fraud Or Good Opportunity?.
95% of the money-making opportunities on the internet have been worked to death or are not suitable to be marketed through the internet. How does your company and/or opportunity rate… I’ll leave it to you to decide if your service, product and/or money making opportunity falls in this category.
Hurry you may NOT be happy with what you will find!
I found a company that pays $10 - $50/hr for shopping the classifieds!
Work At Home $10 - $50/hr Easy part/full time work, no boss, no commute, no set hours, paid every 12 days..
I'm making over $500 a day with this company and will be happy to help you do the same.
Hurry postions are filling fast!
I just ran across this post while conducting some research on various absolutely free people search sites. Even though it isn’t exactly what I was searching for, I think the people who visit your post might still be interested in reading my article on absolutely free people search. I try to answer the question: Are there really absolutely free people search sites? Even though it's not what I am looking for, I'm glad I stopped long enough to read -- thanks. Just thought you'd like to know.
best regards, nice info »
Post a Comment