Page "Altruism" Paragraph 74

Altruism was central to the teachings of Jesus found in the Gospel, especially in the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain.

From biblical to medieval Christian traditions, tensions between self-affirmation and other-regard were sometimes discussed under the heading of " disinterested love ," as in the Pauline phrase " love seeks not its own interests.

" In his book Indoctrination and Self-deception, Roderick Hindery tries to shed light on these tensions by contrasting them with impostors of authentic self-affirmation and altruism, by analysis of other-regard within creative individuation of the self, and by contrasting love for the few with love for the many.

Love confirms others in their freedom, shuns propaganda and masks, assures others of its presence, and is ultimately confirmed not by mere declarations from others, but by each person's experience and practice from within.

As in practical arts, the presence and meaning of love becomes validated and grasped not by words and reflections alone, but in the making of the connection.