Altruistic acts--rooted in our genes and biology or socially/culturally learned behavior?

Question

Altruistic acts--rooted in our genes and biology or socially/culturally learned behavior?

Answer 1

If you think it's "learned behaviour" try teaching altruism to a hamster.

Answer 2

New thinking is that there's a genetic component....that in tribal cultures, everyone had to pitch in and help the group survive.  Those who were selfish would be thrown out and wouldn't survive alone and wouldn't reproduce.  We see altruism and helpfulness in children too young to have "learned" it.  Plus we see altruism in the animal kingdom.

Answer 3

if you've ever had an 18 month old child, you'd see it is genetic

Answer 4

Learned behaviors except in some cases of maternal instinct.

Answer 5

Probably dharma (in its secondary meaning which is the spiritual traits that someone is born with). If one were an atheist in the strictest sense of the word, then as long as you are intelligent enough to know that you aren't going to live forever, you would conclude that the matter which generated your consciousness no longer sustain that temporary you and therefore you no longer exist and never will again. So, in that case one would not feel any reason to care wether or not any other temporary conscious life form suffered, because they would all cease to exist after they die as well. And in relation to eternity (beginningless and endless time) it would not have mattered at all if any thing which only exists for an infinitesimal period of time and nevermore suffers or not.