Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Q&A: Who is more altrustic, Rambert or Rieux?
Contrary to what Hounchin writes, I believe that Rieux is actually the more altruistic of the two men in the book, The Plague. Rieux goes out of his way to help the many people who are affected by the disease in the city. Rambert on the other hand is not altruistic, least not in my definition. Rambert appears to help the poor citizens since he does not want to look like the healthy man who isn't helping. He is made uncomfortable by his position so he helps the sick, though he would rather leave the city if he could. Rambert isn't doing this to help people, just so he can help people. A true altruistic person, like Rieux, would help people for the sake of helping people and isn't all that too concerned with himself.
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Your definition of altruism, here and in the Selfish vs. Altruism post, seem to contradict each other. S v. A you say that a person is altruistic if they are not solely motivated by desire to help others. Here, you are saying that Rambert, who is acting to improve himself and to help others, is not altruistic.
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