#Dictionary
John:
From New Webster's Dictionary (Please note that this is the entire definition):
altruism: "Devotion to others or to humanity, as opposed to 'selfishness.'"
Now, I used the term 'selfless' as a term to replace 'as opposed to
'selfishness.' I'll now go out on a limb and promise you that even Bruce's
WordPerfect Thesaurus will show 'selfless' as an antonym to 'selfish'. I
believe I defined the term altruism as "selfless devotion to mankind." If Noah
Webster were alive he would not have a problem with my definition so I don't
understand your objection. My definition is ACCURATE, if you don't believe me
here's the definition from the American Heritage Dictionary of The English
Language:
altruism (Please note that this is the entire definition):: "Selfless concern
for the welfare of others."
I said that acting SELFLESSLY was a requirement of altruism and I am correct.
Spin the word any way you want but my definition is completely in line at least
with the only two dictionaries I could find in my house at the moment. No
thesaurus is going to help anybody out who tries to get past the word's true
meaning. Now, how does your dictionary define the term altruism? Is your
dictionary offering something less clear than mine? Maybe this is the heart of
the problem. Anyone else who is reading this can feel free to post their
dictionary's definition of altruism. (Sorry, no thesaurus entries <G>)
/_______________________From your message________________________\\
I think it says it all pretty well. And I don't see anything that supports
your contention on the definition of altruism.
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I have tried to discuss the concepts without having to rely on misinterpreted
terms. This semantic argument has kept us from discussing the issues. My
impression is that I wanted to talk about acting selflessly and you wanted to
talk about being nice to other people. There is a world of difference between
these two concepts and altruism only describes the former not the latter.
Bob