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What can explain a person who risks their life in order to save another? Would that explanation differ if the person risking themselves is doing it as a function of their job? Must the "risker" be someone that has no predetermined role or obligation to the person they are trying to save?

On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the frigid, ice covered waters of the Potomac River during take off. There were 79 people on board. Arnold D. Williams, Jr, age 50, was one of the survivors holding on to some floating wreckage of the plane when a rescue helicopter arrived. That helicopter dropped life vests and a flotation ball to the river; Mr. Williams handed all of them to other survivors. The crew also lowered life lines that dragged survivors across the ice to the river bank. Five people were saved by the helicopter crew and Mr. Williams, but when the helicopter returned for Mr. Williams, he was gone.

Flight 90 crashed during a snowstorm that caused ice to build up on the wings. The helicopter was hovering above the sinking wreckage of an aircraft in an effort to save the lives of a pitifully small number of people before the frigid waters of the Potomac claimed their lives too. Looking down on the scene, the experienced crew undoubtedly had an idea what caused the crash. It doesn't take much ice to almost disrupt the aerodynamics of an airplane; it takes even less to disable a helicopter. That helicopter crew was risking their lives to do their job. Does the fact that they were doing their duty negate their possible sacrifice; the altruistic nature of that risk? Or is Mr. Williams the only one in this disaster that deserves that distinction?

The debate about altruism has been growing in recent years. The arguments surrounding altruism are hampered by the lack of a standard, accepted definition for altruism. In order for an act to be considered altruistic, can there be a reward for the actor or must the act be one that is truly sacrificial? Are there rewards that could be considered acceptable (perhaps minor) enough for the act to be altruistic? Scientists are studying altruism by subjectively observing the behavior of animals and human beings. They are also using medical tests such as fMRI to objectively study the neurological aspects of altruism. How do these tests affect the philosophical debate about altruism?

In simple terms altruism can be described as "resource sharing motivated by charity or an "unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others". Human beings are complex creatures and nothing about us can ever be reduced to simplicity.

In fact, part of the problem with examining altruism is the fact it is not a simple behavior. Any study of altruism must "cut across disciplinary lines There are biological, societal, psychological and even economic components involved.

A study of twins, released in 2004 by the Royal Society in the United Kingdom, "showed that identical twins (who share 100 percent of their genes) were almost twice as similar in their social attitudes as non-identical twins (who share half their genes)." The scientists concluded that genetics "seem to predict real-life altruistic participation - from voting to doing volunteer work - suggesting that such behaviors could have genetic foundations."

Researchers at the University of Oregon used fMRIs examined the neurological results of altruistic or charitable giving. They found that the pleasure centers of the brain, the same ones that activate when eating a luscious desert or enjoying the company of another, are stimulated when the participants donated money to charity; a voluntary act of resource sharing. Surprisingly, they found that paying taxes, an obligatory act of resource sharing activated the same areas of the brain; albeit not as much as the voluntary giving.

Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary defines a myth as primarily a "traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon." Obviously altruism is not a historical event, but it helps to explain the practice of a 50 year old man, who had the belief to make the ultimate sacrifice of giving up his life to save strangers in the freezing waters of the Potomac.

Learn more about this author, Piper Wilson.
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