Embracing the Other: Philosophical, Psychological, and Historical Perspectives on Altruism [Paperback]

This book of essays is the product of a 1989 project that focused on people who were willing, despite grave risk and consequence, to rescue Jews during the Holocaust. The goal of the book is to instigate thought about the implication of the studies on altruism for different spheres of social life. The conference was composed of scholars from a multitude of disciplines and nations. The topics they write about range from the highly theoretical to the strongly pragmatic.

Essayists largely agree that it is the issue of motivation that is essential to an adequate notion of altruism. Each of the chapters in this book deals with the promotion of pro-social behavior and concern for the other.

The book is broken into five major sections. The first addresses philosophical, definitional, and conceptual issues related to altruism. Krzysztof Konarzewski argues that heroic altruism requires both empathy with the other and protest - two quite different motivational orientations. The protest has to do with independence based upon commitment to foundations of community life. Lawrence Blum argues that rescue involves moral principles beyond those merely of altruism. The altruistic personality appreciates other values beyond altruism itself. Victor Seidler criticizes the overvaluing of reason-duty to the neglect of emotion-based motivation like compassion. Rather than traditions such as Christianity that emphasize ethical purity, Seidler suggests that the tradition of Judaism, which accepts emotion, self and individuality as well as social context as a more adequate approach.

The second section is titled, "Sociobiology and Moral Altruism." The authors of two chapters in this section, Ian Vine and Ronald Cohen, reject exclusively biological-based altruism or exclusively cultural-based models and adopt the both/and model of biology and culture. Genes provide a range of possible behaviors, but it is culture and learning that shape the selection of that range.

The third section is entitled "The Development and Enactment of Altruism." Dennis Krebs and Frank van Hesteren argue that all people to a greater or lesser degree express altruism, and the capacity for altruism grows with social and cognitive development. Krebs and van Hesteren proposed a "developmental-interactionalist" model consisting of seven cognitively based stage structures. Maria Jarymowicz argues for what she calls an "exocentric altruism" that stems from centering on the other. This altruism is more likely to result in an appropriate response when directed toward those who are dissimilar to the altruist. Those with a low self distinctiveness experience identity problems and are, therefore, more likely to discriminate against dissimilar "out-group" others. Individuals with an extensive identification with a sense of connectedness to others tend to behave more altruistically than individuals with more limited identities. Chapters by Zuzanna Smolenska, Janusz Reykowski, Leo Montada, and Elizabeth Midlarsky's proposed theories from empirical studies on altruism among those with a variety of ages and backgrounds.

The fourth section, titled "Embracing the Outsider," includes essays addressing altruistic behavior toward particular people groups. Richard Hovannisian examines the acts of Turks who saved the lives of Armenians during the genocide of 1915. Lawrence Baron and Ewa Kurek-Lisik look at the Dutch involvement of rescuing the Jews during the Holocaust. They also examine the actions of Polish nuns who saved Jewish children. Finally, Rachel Hertz-Lazarowitz tells the story of a passionate Israeli who fought the war of independence against Lebanon and subsequently devoted all of his time to helping the Palestinians against whom he fought.

The final section of the book addresses issues pertaining to what is involved in the promotion of altruistic acts and altruistic bonds. After noting that rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust were marked by what might be called extensivity-which is a dual orientation toward the attachments in interpersonal relationships as well as an inclusive sense of obligation toward multiple groups-Pearl and Samuel Oliner propose 8 social processes that might encourage and extensive orientation. Rescuers of Jews had a propensity to assume obligations and social responsibility for all other human beings, perceiving them as worthy and deserving of help as well as empathy. Ervin Staub asks about the kind of socialization that might be required to raise caring and cooperative helpful persons. He argues that children with connected identities are more likely to be pro-social and altruistic. Daniel Boland cites the case of Alcoholics Anonymous as a concrete case of altruism. Wendy Heller and Hoda Mahmoudi argue that adherents of the Baha'i faith learn extensive altruistic norms through the central teaching of this religious tradition. In the book's final chapter, Wiktor Osiatynski looks at the former Soviet Union and the Russian Orthodox Church. Osiatynski develops the idea that philanthropy and charity may be possible in a paternalistic or autocratic collectivist society, but altruism cannot exist in this sort of society.

Thomas Jay Oord

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