ALTRUISM QUOTES
quotations about altruism
Altruism is an instinct for survival that may be in our genes--an internal force for goodness in everyone that begins with birth.
JAMES R. OZINGA
Altruism
The person who works for recognition devalues the work he does.... altruism's true name is always Anonymous.
DAVID MARUSEK
Mind Over Ship
"A cigar," said the altruist, "a cigar, my good man, I cannot give you. But any time you need a light, just come around; mine is always lit."
KARL KRAUS
Half-Truths and One-and-a-Half Truths
Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.
ALBERT EINSTEIN
Youth, Jun. 1932
Animals have genes for altruism, and those genes have been selected in the evolution of many creatures because of the advantage they confer for the continuing survival of the species.
LEWIS THOMAS
Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler's Ninth Symphony
The issue is whether man is to be regarded as a sacrificial animal. Any man of self-esteem will answer: "No." Altruism says: "Yes."
AYN RAND
Philosophy: Who Needs It
When I help you, I feel good, you feel good, and the videographer I hired to document my generosity, altruism, and all around awesomeness feels good. I never knew how much love I had to give until the camera started recording.
JAROD KINTZ
Love Quotes for the Ages
The most altruistic and sustainable philosophies fail before the brute brain stem imperative of self-interest.
PETER WATTS
Blindsight
No people do so much harm as those who go about doing good.
MANDELL CREIGHTON
Life, vol. 2
What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone.
WINSTON CHURCHILL
Liberalism and the Social Problem
There's no such thing as altruism. No such thing as a truly selfless act. We always get paid, one way or another.
HAHA LUNG
Mind Control: The Ancient Art of Psychological Warfare
Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
MLK, Jr. Quotes: The Vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Choose altruism, because selfishism is a lonely, cold, dark hole.
EMARATIST
Twitter post, Feb. 18, 2014
That man is good who does good to others; if he suffers on account of the good he does, he is very good; if he suffers at the hands of those to whom he has done good, then his goodness is so great that it could be enhanced only by greater sufferings; and if he should die at their hands, his virtue can go no further: it is heroic, it is perfect.
JEAN DE LA BRUYERE
"Of Personal Merit", Characters
He who wishes to secure the good of others has already secured his own.
CONFUCIUS
attributed, Treasury of Thought
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
LUKE 6:31
There is no limit to the good a man can do, if he doesn't care who gets the credit.
ANONYMOUS
The world exists only on account of him who disregards his own existence.
ABBAHU
Talmud
Individual versus group selection results in a mix of altruism and selfishness, of virtue and sin, among the members of a society. If one colony member devotes its life to service over marriage, the individual is of benefit to the society, even though it does not have personal offspring. A soldier going into battle will benefit his country, but he runs a higher risk of death than one who does not. An altruist benefits the group, but a layabout or coward who saves his own energy and reduces his bodily risk passes the resulting social cost to others.
EDWARD O. WILSON
The Social Conquest of Earth
What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.
ALBERT PIKE
Ex Corde Locutiones