Weekly Musings VI - On Being Human

al·tru·ism

The belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.

Today I had lunch with a journalist from the Wall Street Journal. We ate and chatted over the usual fare - technology, Elon, the future of medical technology. We then stumbled into the territory of suicide prevention, which ultimately led him to say that he appreciated that I was an altruist and that it was rare to find that in San Francisco.

This gave me something to chew on as I walked to my local supermarket to pick up mangoes, rice paper, and paper towels.

Altruism to me is similar to the word demisexual. Demisexuality is another way to say you desire some amount of human connection with the person you’re being intimate with. Being human requires connection, why is there now a word for that? Likewise, being human requires you to be altruistic. Being a healthy member of society requires you to be selfless, and generous.

How much of our humanity have we left behind that we forget what our basic human needs our? Our basic moral imperatives as humans?

We should all strive to love, and care for others as we love, and care for ourselves. There is no flourishing and healthy society or tribe in history that solely relied on the individual instead of the community.

Altruism shouldn’t be celebrated, it should be required.