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Literary notes about altruistic (AI summary)

"Altruistic" in literature often functions as a multifaceted term that embodies both genuine selflessness and a critical examination of purported selflessness. On one hand, authors employ the word to describe noble sentiments that emphasize collective well-being and the suppression of selfish impulses, as seen when compassionate actions are elevated over negative traits ([1], [2], [3]). Conversely, the term is sometimes harnessed to question the authenticity of self-sacrifice, suggesting that seemingly altruistic endeavors might mask underlying personal ambitions or serve as rhetorical devices in ethical debates ([4], [5], [6]). In philosophical and psychological discourses, "altruistic" is further analyzed in relation to human nature, delineating the delicate interplay between egoistic drives and sincere moral impulses ([7], [8], [9]).
  1. It is to the advantage of society that altruistic and kindly feelings should outweigh jealousy, anger, and selfishness.
    — from Society: Its Origin and Development by Henry K. (Henry Kalloch) Rowe
  2. It is unconsciousness of self, altruistic interest, and inward kindliness, outwardly expressed in good manners.
    — from Etiquette by Emily Post
  3. The essence of the higher morality is the predominance of the altruistic motives over the egoistic, in the deliberately reasoned control of conduct.
    — from The Group Mind: A Sketch of the Principles of Collective Psychology With Some Attempt to Apply Them to the Interpretation of National Life and Character by William McDougall
  4. Those who have made it appear to be laboring under the illusion that the Monroe Doctrine was wholly altruistic in its aim.
    — from From Isolation to Leadership, RevisedA Review of American Foreign Policy by John Holladay Latané
  5. No: she had another motive, and it wasn't any way altruistic."
    — from Linda Lee, Incorporated: A Novel by Louis Joseph Vance
  6. Besides, we were actuated by motives not entirely altruistic.
    — from Jaffery by William John Locke
  7. The state of being self -centered, self-conceited, and unduly self-confident; selfish as opposed to altruistic.
    — from OrthographyAs Outlined in the State Course of Study for Illinois by Elmer W. (Elmer Warren) Cavins
  8. An attempt is made to reconcile the altruistic mode of action with the natural order of things.
    — from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Nietzsche
  9. —An "altruistic" morality, a morality under which selfishness withers, is in all circumstances a bad sign.
    — from The Twilight of the Idols; or, How to Philosophize with the Hammer. The Antichrist by Nietzsche

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