dr_who@umcp-cs.UUCP (07/31/83)
When people disagree as to a definition, the logical thing to do is consult a dictionary. When it comes to definitions, dictionaries are the ultimate authority. I've consulted four dictionaries so far, and none of them agree entirely with Tom's definition of altruism. One of them DID agree with PART of his definition (and I mistakenly reported this fact by saying that "one [of the dictionaries] agreed with Tom"). The part that it agreed with was Tom's contention that altruism requires self-sacrifice. The part it did NOT agree with was Tom's contention that altruism is a moral belief. NONE of the dictionaries said anything of the sort. The other three dictionaries were entirely consistent with my definition of altruism. (I quote myself: "altruism means caring for others; having their good at heart." Tom says in net.politics that "even your definition is that one is acting morally when one acts benevolently." My definition plainly says nothing of the kind.) One dictionary, the World Book 1969 edition, gave as synonyms for altruism, "philanthropy" and "humanitarianism". A humanitarian was defined as one who has a regard for the welfare of ALL human beings. Note that this must include the humanitarian himself. Tom insists on his definition because "I believe it is correct", and because it "describes a very real system of morality ... the system that is most widely accepted today". I have refuted the first claim in the above two paragraphs. But isn't it okay for Tom to use the word "altruism" to mean this very real moral system? Yes, as long as he puts the word "altruism" in quotation-marks, or capitalizes it and puts the word True in front of it, or otherwise warns us that HIS USE OF THE WORD IS DIFFERENT FROM ORDINARY STANDARD ENGLISH. For my part, I will try to use other words where possible. I will use "humanitarianism" and "caring for others" where appropriate. Unless you can find a dictionary which you feel is more authoritative than American Heritage, Webster's, and World Book combined, and which supports your definition, Tom (especially the part about altruism being a *moral belief*), this small part of our argument is over. You lose. Q.E.D. --Paul Torek, U of MD College Park