ALTRUISM IN BIOLOGY REGARDING DISINTERESTED FORMS OF ACTION IN ECONOMY (SELECTED ASPECTS)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and seek equivalents of behaviours which in respect of living organisms are defined as altruistic, i.e. consisting of certain activities aimed at drawing advantages by other individuals, with simultaneous resignation of own advantage by one of the participants of the so-called altruistic act. Altruistic acts, as a negation of egoism, are often observed among numerous living creatures, but also within the whole human communities with their complex cultural and economic structures. The forms and mechanisms of such behaviours are interesting, as they are typically not aimed at satisfying the needs of specific individuals, ready to share their resources with other individuals, as a consequence of which they themselves may lose. In biology, altruistic behaviours are typically associated with organisms closely related to each other. Such acts are reasonable in the context of revolutionary considerations, as helping one’s own relatives increases the chance of spreading one’s genes. Description of such behaviours is different in economic lives of societies, where altruistic behaviours can be observed as well, whether in the form of sponsoring, or of welfare state, i.e. targeted at completely strange individuals as well. Explanation of the reason behind such behaviours seems to get us closer to understanding of certain patterns of activity in biology as well as in social and economic behaviours, which consist of acting in a manner that brings advantage to others. However, altruism of such activities depends on complex factors and is therefore complicated and oftentimes also apparent, leading to more comprehensive achievement of one’s own egoistic agenda in the long-term.