Op-Ed Columnist

Its Hard to Be a Hero

By JOE NOCERA
Published: e!ember "# $%&$ &'" Comments
On a crisp January day in 2007, a 50-year-old construction worker named Wesley Autrey
became a New York ero wen e rescued a man wo ad !allen onto te subway tracks"
A train ad #ust le!t te station, so te plat!orm was nearly empty e$cept !or Autrey, is
two dau%ters and a youn% man wo was a&in% a sei'ure o! some sort" (e man !ell
onto te tracks, in a position, Autrey told me recently, )were e was %oin% to lose is
limbs"* Wit anoter train !ast approacin%, Autrey instincti&ely #umped onto te tracks,
positioned te man+s body sa!ely between te rails, and lay on top o! im" ,i&e cars
passed o&er tem be!ore te train screeced to a alt"
Wat prompted me to telepone Autrey was te deat on -onday o! .i-/uck 0an, a
1ueens man wo was pused onto te 23t /treet subway tracks, alle%edly by Naeem
4a&is, a dri!ter wit wom police said e ad been a&in% an altercation" (is time, tere
were plenty o! people on te plat!orm, most notably 5" 6mar Abbasi, a poto%raper
wo took some orri!yin% pictures as te subway train closed in on 0an"
(e 22 seconds or so between 0an bein% pused and te train reacin% im was about te
same amount o! time tat Autrey ad nearly si$ years earlier" Yet, on -onday, no one on
te crowded plat!orm made a mo&e to elp 0an until it was too late" 7A doctor tried to
administer 8"9"5", but e was already dead":
)9eople were #ust standin% in !ear and sock, not really knowin% wat was %oin% on* one
bystander told a crowd o! reporters" )/ome people started runnin% out o! te plat!orm"
Oter people #ust stood tere"*
Wen one o! Abbasi+s %ruesome poto%raps landed on te !ront pa%e o! (e New York
9ost, te reaction was !ierce" )/omeone+s takin% tat picture,* said Al 5oker on N;8+s
)(oday /ow"* )Wy aren+t tey elpin% tis %uy up<*
Abbasi de!ended imsel! in part by sayin% e used is !las to warn te conductor, but e
was also =uick to point te !in%er at oters> )Wy didn+t te people wo were close
enou% elp im<* e asked" )?! ? ad reaced im in time, ? would a&e pulled im up,*
e insisted" We all arbor te ope tat i! we !ound oursel&es in te same position as
Wesley Autrey @ or 6mar Abbasi @ we would act wit coura%e instead o! cowardice"
Yet bea&ioral science su%%ests oterwise" (e most !amous case o! bystanders !ailin% to
act took place in A3B2, wen .itty Ceno&ese, a youn% woman li&in% in a =uiet 1ueens
nei%borood, was brutally stabbed to deat" 4espite er repeated screams !or elp, some
DE people wo eard er !rom teir apartments did notin% @ not e&en call te police"
A"-" 5osental, te renowned !ormer e$ecuti&e editor o! (e (imes, wo was ten te
metropolitan editor @ and wo ad %otten te tip tat led to te story @ wrote a sort
book called )(irty-Fi%t Witnesses"* ?n it, 5osental asked te =uestion tat aunted te
country in te a!termat o! te murder> Why?
Wy didn+t anyone do anytin%<
5osental could only %uess at te answer because tere ad been no researc on wat is
now known as )pro-social bea&ior"* ;ut a!ter te story %ripped te country, two youn%
social scientists @ ;ibb GatanH, ten at 8olumbia 6ni&ersity, and Jon 4arley, wo
tau%t at New York 6ni&ersity @ conducted a series o! e$periments on te bea&ior o!
bystanders"
(eir startlin% conclusion, wic is now known as te bystander e!!ect, is tat te more
people wo witness a crime, te less likely any one o! tem will come to te aid o! te
&ictim" 9artly tis is because wen people see oters not doin% anytin%, tey become
con!used, not sure i! it really is an emer%ency @ )a collecti&e i%norance* says GatanH"
Anoter reason, tou%, is sometin% called te di!!usion o! responsibility" )You tink to
yoursel!, tere are all tese oter people ere" (is isn+t entirely my problem,* says
GatanH"
Co back to te be%innin% o! tis column" (e crucial detail in 2007, wen &iewed
trou% te prism o! bea&ioral science, is tat te subway plat!orm was nearly empty"
Autrey acted eroically @ e&en lea&in% is two youn% cildren unattended to do so @
because tere was no one else wo could elp" On -onday, te 23t /treet subway
plat!orm was !ull o! people, eac possibly tinkin% tat someone else was closer,
someone else was stron%er, someone else sould be responsible !or te eroic act" As a
result, no one acted"
)? wouldn+t do te wron% tin%,* one man waitin% !or a subway train told (e (imes on
(uesday" (at+s wat we all want to tink" ?t+s wy we are so =uick to condemn tose
wo do notin% at suc moments"
;ut let+s be onest> We don+t really know ow we+d act until te moment is upon us"
/adly, te science says we+re more likely to do notin% tan respond like Wesley Autrey"
Conne!t (ith )s on *+itter
,or Op-Fd, !ollow Inytopinion and to ear !rom te editorial pa%e editor, Andrew
5osental, !ollow IandyrNY("
O!tober &,# $%&%# -:&" pm
Is Pure Altruism Possible.
By JUDITH LICHTENBERG
Wo could doubt te e$istence o! altruism<
(rue, news stories o! malice and %reed abound" ;ut all around us we see e&idence o!
uman bein%s sacri!icin% temsel&es and doin% %ood !or oters" 5emember Wesley
Autrey< On Jan" 2, 2007, -r" Autrey #umped down onto te tracks o! a New York 8ity
subway plat!orm as a train was approacin% to sa&e a man wo ad su!!ered a sei'ure and
!allen" A !ew monts later te Jir%inia (ec pro!essor Gi&iu Gibrescu blocked te door to
is classroom so is students could escape te bullets o! /eun%-0ui 8o, wo was on a
rampa%e tat would lea&e D2 students and !aculty members dead" ?n so doin%, -r"
Gibrescu %a&e is li!e"
/till, doubtin% altruism is easy, e&en wen it seems at !irst %lance to be apparent" ?t+s
undeniable tat people sometimes act in a way tat bene!its oters, but it may seem tat
tey always %et sometin% in return @ at te &ery least, te satis!action o! a&in% teir
desire to elp !ul!illed" /tudents in introductory pilosopy courses torture teir
pro!essors wit tis reasonin%" And its lo%ic can seem ine$orable"
8ontemporary discussions o! altruism =uickly turn to e&olutionary e$planations"
5eciprocal altruism and kin selection are te two main teories" Accordin% to reciprocal
altruism, e&olution !a&ors or%anisms tat sacri!ice teir %ood !or oters in order to %ain a
!a&or in return" .in selection @ te !amous )sel!is %ene* teory populari'ed by 5icard
4awkins @ says tat an indi&idual wo bea&es altruistically towards oters wo sare
its %enes will tend to reproduce tose %enes" Or%anisms may be altruisticK %enes are
sel!is" (e !eelin% tat lo&in% your cildren more tan yoursel! is ard-wired lends
plausibility to te teory o! kin selection"
(ese e&olutionary teories e$plain a pu''le> ow or%anisms tat sacri!ice teir own
)reproducti&e !itness* @ teir ability to sur&i&e and reproduce @ could possibly a&e
e&ol&ed" ;ut neiter teory !ully accounts !or our ordinary understandin% o! altruism"
(e de!ect o! reciprocal altruism is clear" ?! a person acts to bene!it anoter in te
e$pectation tat te !a&or will be returned, te natural response is> )(at+s not altruismL*
9ure altruism, we tink, re=uires a person to sacri!ice !or anoter witout consideration
o! personal %ain" 4oin% %ood !or anoter person because sometin%+s in it !or te do-er is
te &ery opposite o! wat we a&e in mind" .in selection does better by allowin% tat
or%anisms may %enuinely sacri!ice teir interests !or anoter, but it !ails to e$plain wy
tey sometimes do so !or tose wit wom tey sare no %enes, as 9ro!essor Gibrescu
and -r" Autrey did"
Wen we ask weter uman bein%s are altruistic, we want to know about teir moti&es
or intentions" ;iolo%ical altruism e$plains ow unsel!is bea&ior mi%t a&e e&ol&ed
but, as ,rans de Waal su%%ested in is column in (e /tone on /unday, it implies notin%
about te moti&es or intentions o! te a%ent> a!ter all, birds and bats and bees can act
altruistically" (is !act elps to e$plain wy, despite tese e&olutionary teories, te &iew
tat people ne&er intentionally act to bene!it oters e$cept to obtain some %ood !or
temsel&es still possesses a power!ul lure o&er our tinkin%"
(e lure o! tis &iew @ e%oism @ as two sources, one psycolo%ical, te oter lo%ical"
8onsider !irst te psycolo%ical" One reason people deny tat altruism e$ists is tat,
lookin% inward, tey doubt te purity o! teir own moti&es" We know tat e&en wen we
appear to act unsel!isly, oter reasons !or our bea&ior o!ten rear teir eads> te
prospect o! a !uture !a&or, te boost to reputation, or simply te %ood !eelin% tat comes
!rom appearin% to act unsel!isly" As .ant and ,reud obser&ed, people+s true moti&es
may be idden, e&en 7or peraps especially: !rom temsel&es" F&en i! we tink we+re
actin% solely to !urter anoter person+s %ood, tat mi%t not be te real reason" 7(ere
mi%t be no sin%le )real reason* @ actions can a&e multiple moti&es":
/o te psycolo%ical lure o! e%oism as a teory o! uman action is partly e$plained by a
certain umility or skepticism people a&e about teir own or oters+ moti&es" (ere+s
also a less !latterin% reason> denyin% te possibility o! pure altruism pro&ides a
con&enient e$cuse !or sel!is bea&ior" ?! )e&erybody is like tat* @ i! e&erybody must
be like tat @ we need not !eel %uilty about our own sel!-interested bea&ior or try to
can%e it"
(e lo%ical lure o! e%oism is di!!erent> te &iew seems impossible to dispro&e" No matter
ow altruistic a person appears to be, it+s possible to concei&e o! er moti&e in e%oistic
terms" On tis way o! lookin% at it, te %uilt -r" Autrey would a&e su!!ered ad e
i%nored te man on te tracks made riskin% is li!e wort te %amble" (e doctor wo
%i&es up a com!ortable li!e to care !or A?4/ patients in a remote place does wat se
wants to do, and tere!ore %ets satis!action !rom wat only appears to be sel!-sacri!ice"
/o, it seems, altruism is simply sel!-interest o! a subtle kind"
(e impossibility o! dispro&in% e%oism may sound like a &irtue o! te teory, but, as
pilosopers o! science know, it+s really a !atal drawback" A teory tat purports to tell us
sometin% about te world, as e%oism does, sould be !alsi!iable" Not !alse, o! course, but
capable o! bein% tested and tus pro&ed !alse" ?! e&ery state o! a!!airs is compatible wit
e%oism, ten e%oism doesn+t tell us anytin% distincti&e about ow tin%s are"
A related reason !or te lure o! e%oism, noted by ;isop Josep ;utler in te AEt
century, concerns ambi%uity in te concepts o! desire and te satis!action o! desire" ?!
people possess altruistic moti&es, ten tey sometimes act to bene!it oters witout te
prospect o! %ain to temsel&es" ?n oter words, tey desire te %ood o! oters !or its own
sake, not simply as a means to teir own satis!action" ?t+s ob&ious tat 9ro!essor Gibrescu
desired tat is students not die, and acted accordin%ly to sa&e teir li&es" 0e succeeded,
so is desire was satis!ied" ;ut he was not satis!ied @ since e died in te attempt to sa&e
te students" ,rom te !act tat a person+s desire is satis!ied we can draw no conclusions
about e!!ects on is mental state or well-bein%"
/till, wen our desires are satis!ied we normally e$perience satis!actionK we !eel %ood
wen we do %ood" ;ut tat doesn+t mean we do %ood only in order to %et tat )warm
%low* @ tat our true incenti&es are sel!-interested 7as economists tend to claim:" ?ndeed,
as de Waal ar%ues, i! we didn+t desire te %ood o! oters !or its own sake, ten attainin% it
wouldn+t produce te warm %low"
8ommon sense tells us tat some people are more altruistic tan oters" F%oism+s claim
tat tese di!!erences are illusory @ tat deep down, e&erybody acts only to !urter teir
own interests @ contradicts our obser&ations and deep-seated uman practices o! moral
e&aluation"
At te same time, we may notice tat %enerous people don+t necessarily su!!er more or
!louris less tan tose wo are more sel!-interested" Altruists may be more content or
!ul!illed tan sel!is people" Nice %uys don+t always !inis last"
;ut nor do tey always !inis !irst" (e point is rater tat te kind o! altruism we ou%t
to encoura%e, and probably te only kind wit stayin% power, is satis!yin% to tose wo
practice it" /tudies o! rescuers sow tat tey don+t belie&e teir bea&ior is
e$traordinaryK tey !eel tey must do wat tey do, because it+s #ust part o! wo tey are"
(e same olds !or more common, less newsworty acts @ workin% in soup kitcens,
takin% pets to people in nursin% omes, elpin% stran%ers !ind teir way, bein%
nei%borly" 9eople wo act in tese ways belie&e tat tey ou%t to elp oters, but tey
also want to elp, because doin% so a!!irms wo tey are and want to be and te kind o!
world tey want to e$ist" As 9ro!" Neera ;adwar as ar%ued, teir identity is tied up
wit teir &alues, tus tyin% sel!-interest and altruism to%eter" (e correlation between
doin% %ood and !eelin% %ood is not ine&itable@ ine&itability lands us a%ain wit tat
empty, un!alsi!iable e%oism @ but it is more tan incidental"
Altruists sould not be con!used wit people wo automatically sacri!ice teir own
interests !or oters" We admire 9aul 5usesaba%ina, te otel mana%er wo sa&ed o&er
A,000 (utsis and 0utus durin% te A332 5wandan %enocideK we admire ealt workers
wo %i&e up com!ortable li&es to treat sick people in ard places" ;ut we don+t admire
people wo let oters walk all o&er temK tat amounts to lack o! sel!-respect, not
altruism"
Altruism is possible and altruism is real, altou% in ealty people it intertwines subtly
wit te well-bein% o! te a%ent wo does %ood" And tis is crucial !or seein% ow to
increase te amount o! altruism in te world" Aristotle ad it ri%t in is )Nicomacean
Ftics*> we a&e to raise people !rom teir )&ery yout* and educate tem )so as bot to
deli%t in and to be pained by te tin%s tat we ou%t"*
Judith Lichtenberg is pr!essr ! phi"sphy #t Gerget$n Uni%ersity& 'he is #t $r(
n # b( n the ide# ! ch#rity&
8opyri%t 20AD (e New York (imes 8ompany
9ri&acy 9olicy
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