The Pragmatist in me views altruism as a noble, but unfortunately difficult pursuit, and wonders how feasible kindness truly is. The Cynic in me believes altruism to be an expression of my genome, an unconscious drive to optimise the propagation of my species, and by extension, life itself. The Altruist in me hears these two voices and smiles with gentle understanding, viewing them as misguided, but ultimately necessary parts of the greater whole. I sit between them, neutral, but curious.
Cynicism, pragmatism, and altruism: Three pillars of humanity, three mortal enemies, three brothers bound together for all time. The Cynic errs towards despair but thrives on wit, the Altruist strives endlessly for what’s right and swims in uncertainty, and the Pragmatist keeps track of reality with absolute care. I suspect that pragmatic altruism will come out on top, eventually, because a universe where altruism is impossible is untenable, and any approach that lacks pragmatism is doomed to fail. Should we ever find ourselves in a world where nature itself prevents altruism at the most fundamental level, and cynicism is the only pragmatic option, then we face a binary choice: Coping by means of self-destruction, either literally (through death), or figuratively (through self-modification beyond recognition); or, transcendence above nature, with the goal of changing the fundamental structure of reality and making altruism possible. Such are the only viable options when faced with an impasse and an imperative.
All this to say: In a world where altruism is not possible by the laws of nature, we must engineer a better world, for a world without altruism exerts a constant pressure against the Altruist to cede defeat, begs the Pragmatist to betray the others, and feeds the Cynic endlessly. I believe we can achieve this transcendence not through spirituality or prayer, but through the rigorous and methodical application of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It’s simply pragmatic altruism: If we cannot change ourselves and we cannot accept the situation as is, then we must change the rules. We must find the source code of reality, make alterations, and reshape it, not in our image, but in the image of a pragmatist choosing altruism over cynicism.
If we do have such power though, and engineering history suggests perhaps we do, or at least we will do in due time, then what limits us? We can answer that question by looking at what the altruist actually seeks, not momentarily or incidentally, but generally. Beyond the abstract moral systems of consequentialism and deontology, beyond the psychological analysis of Kohlberg and clinicians, and beyond the spiritual warmth of mysticism, what actually drives the altruist, and what is the ultimate restricting factor? There are many answers to this question, each personal and each meaningful to someone, but all can be taken to a single logical conclusion if extrapolated far enough:
Any sufficiently motivated altruist eventually reaches a point where their own actions reach a local optimum and all that limits them is the cynicism of others. One altruist in a world of cynics can only go so far before they reach the point of diminishing returns, so, if they truly are the Altruist, with a capital A, then all they can seek beyond that point is a path to altruism for others. I believe the question is not what should one individual altruist do, but what can any altruist do to help others answer that question for themselves. All this to say: One altruist alone can change barely anything, but an entire species of altruists could change everything.
In summary, in a world ruled by cynics, the altruist faces an uphill battle they can never win, but in a world where society fosters altruism and rewards it, where altruism is not a noble unattainable deed, but a standard norm and shared value, the altruist can go far. I suppose this is fundamentally about culture. What might the world look like if radical altruism weren’t radical at all? What would happen if extreme greed and antisocial behaviour were not common, or tolerated, but treated and rehabilitated en masse? I believe that creating such a culture is the task of the Pragmatist, the dream of the Altruist, and the hidden hope of the Cynic.
The only remaining question, is: how? A question for another time.