ALTRUISM: TOWARD A PSYCHOBIOSPIRITUAL CONCEPTUALIZATION

Authors: Morrison, Nancy K.¹; Severino, Sally K.²

Source: Zygon, Volume 42, Number 1, March 2007 , pp. 25-40(16)

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Abstract:

Altruism, defined here as a regard for or devotion to the interest of others with whom we are interrelated, is pitted against two other dispositions in human beings: nepotism and egoism. We propose that to become fully human is to become more altruistic. We describe how altruism is mediated by our physiology, is expressed in our psychological development, is evolving in our social institutions, and becomes the moral communities that enforce our sense of right and wrong. A change in any one of these influences changes our disposition—changes who we are and what we do—potentially making altruism more possible in the world.

Keywords: altruism; attuning; egalitarianism; interrelatedness; separation-attachment dialectic; spirituality

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2006.00802.x

Affiliations: 1: Nancy K. Morrison is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Psychotherapy Training, Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico School of Medicine; 2400 Tucker NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131;, Email: nmorrison@salud.unm.edu. 2: Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Email: skseverino@earthlink.net.

Publication date: 2007-03-01