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Altruism, collective rationality, and extreme self-sacrifice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2018

Andrew M. Colman Open the ORCID record for Andrew M. Colman [Opens in a new window]  and
Briony D. Pulford Open the ORCID record for Briony D. Pulford [Opens in a new window]
Andrew M. Colman
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom. amc@le.ac.ukbdp5@le.ac.ukhttps://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/npb/people/amchttps://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/npb/people/bdp5
Briony D. Pulford
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom. amc@le.ac.ukbdp5@le.ac.ukhttps://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/npb/people/amchttps://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/npb/people/bdp5
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Abstract

Puzzlement about extreme self-sacrifice arises from an unarticulated assumption of psychological egoism, according to which people invariably act in their own self-interests. However, altruism and collective rationality are well established experimentally: people sometimes act to benefit others or in the interests of groups to which they belong. When such social motives are sufficiently strong, extreme self-sacrifice presents no special problem of explanation and does not require out-group threats.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e197
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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