Eager for fairness or for revenge?: Psychological altruism in economics
To understand the human capacity for psychological altruism, one requires a proper understanding of how people actually think and feel. This paper addresses the possible relevance of recent findings in experimental economics and neuroeconomics to the philosophical controversy over altruism and egois...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
12 October 2010
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| In: |
Economics and philosophy
Year: 2010, Volume: 26, Issue: 3, Pages: 267-290 |
| ISSN: | 1474-0028 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/S0266267110000374 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266267110000374 Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/economics-and-philosophy/article/eager-for-fairness-or-for-revenge-psychological-altruism-in-economics/03C098B243A4C69F418E6F59B7866483 
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| Author Notes: | Christine Clavien, Rebekka A. Klein |
| Summary: | To understand the human capacity for psychological altruism, one requires a proper understanding of how people actually think and feel. This paper addresses the possible relevance of recent findings in experimental economics and neuroeconomics to the philosophical controversy over altruism and egoism. After briefly sketching and contextualizing the controversy, we survey and discuss the results of various studies on behaviourally altruistic helping and punishing behaviour, which provide stimulating clues for the debate over psychological altruism. On closer analysis, these studies prove less relevant than originally expected because the data obtained admit competing interpretations - such as people seeking fairness versus people seeking revenge. However, this mitigated conclusion does not preclude the possibility of more fruitful research in the area in the future. Throughout our analysis, we provide hints for the direction of future research on the question. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 28.04.2023 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1474-0028 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/S0266267110000374 |