altruism 的詞源

1853年，“無私，爲他人福利而奉獻，與 egoism 相反”，源自法語 altruisme，由法國哲學家奧古斯特·孔特於1830年創造或普及，由 -ism 和 autrui（古法語 altrui）組成，“屬於或爲他人”，源自拉丁語 alteri， alter 的與格形式，意爲“其他”（參見 alter）。法語中的 -l- 可能是從拉丁語單詞中重新插入的詞源。

If we define altruism as being all action which, in the normal course of things, benefits others instead of benefiting self, then, from the dawn of life, altruism has been no less essential than egoism. Though primarily it is dependent on egoism, yet secondarily egoism is dependent on it. [Herbert Spencer, "The Data of Ethics," 1879]

如果我們將利他主義定義爲在正常情況下有益於他人而不是有益於自己的所有行動，那麼從生命的黎明開始，利他主義與利己主義一樣重要。雖然它主要依賴於利己主義，但次要地，利己主義也依賴於它。[赫伯特·斯賓塞，“倫理學的數據”，1879年]

There is a fable that when the badger had been stung all over by bees, a bear consoled him by a rhapsodic account of how he himself had just breakfasted on their honey. The badger replied peevishly, "The stings are in my flesh, and the sweetness is on your muzzle." The bear, it is said, was surprised at the badger's want of altruism. ["George Eliot," "Theophrastus Such," 1879]

有一個寓言，說當獾被蜜蜂蜇了全身時，一隻熊通過狂熱的描述自己剛剛吃了蜂蜜來安慰他。獾不滿地回答說：“刺在我的肉裏，甜味在你的嘴上。”據說熊對獾缺乏利他主義感到驚訝。[“喬治·艾略特”，《西塞的神學》，1879年]