Altruism
Experimental Tests for the Existence of Altruism
Author(s): C. Daniel Batson
Source: PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association,
Vol. 1992, Volume Two: Symposia and Invited Papers (1992), pp. 69-78
Experimental Tests for the Existence of Altruisml
C. Daniel Batson
University of Kansas
I wish to describe a program of research designed to provide experimental evidence
for or against the existence of altruism in humans (also see, Batson 1991).
Whether such an enterprise is at all newsworthy-or at all worth doing-depends, of
course, on what one means by altruism.
I have worked with the following definition: Altruism is a motivational state with
the ultimate goal of increasing another's welfare. I have juxtaposed altruism to egoism,
defined as a motivational state with the ultimate goal of increasing one's own
welfare. Altruism and egoism, thus defined, have much in common. Each refers to
goal-directed motivation; each is concerned with the ultimate goal of this motivation;
and for each, the ultimate goal is to increase someone's welfare. These common features
provide the context for highlighting the crucial difference: Whose welfare is the
ultimate goal-another person's or one's own? These definitions are, I believe, true
to the egoism-altruism debate in Western moral philosophy.