Altruism -- November's "Thought For the Day" Focus

Altruism: Sources from the Hyde Library

Starting Points for Discussion:

Children’s Book:  The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (can a person give too much?)

Movie:  Pay It Forward (could this idea ever really work?)

            Book: Ordinary Grace: Lessons from Those Who Help Others in Extraordinary Ways by Kathleen A. Brehony (which example in this book is the most inspiring to you?)

Articles for Further Reflection:

“The $91 Billion Conversation” (interview with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett) in Fortune:

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=18637389&site=ehost-live.  Gates and Buffett on economics and their decisions to give their fortunes to charity.

“Rats & Ratatouille: Eating and Altruism” can be found in our Today’s Science database at http://www.2facts.com/TSOF/temp/45563temps1500114.asp.  Rats who have been helped are more likely to help another rat.

“If It Feels Good to Be Good, It Might Be Only Natural,”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/27/AR2007052701056.html.  This article by Shankar Vedantam investigates “whether the brain has a built-in moral compass.”

From a Literary Perspective:

Two short stories by Eudora Welty, both published in the same collection, A Curtain of Green, show a sharp contrast in the way some people look at helping others.  In “A Visit of Charity,” a 14-year-old girl visits a nursing home.  In “A Worn Path,” an aging grandmother walks for miles to get medicine for her chronically ill grandson.  But each story features a completely different set of motives.  Read the stories, available in the Hyde Library, and see what you think.

Books on display this month in the Hyde Library:

Bennet, William J. The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories.

Canfield, Jack. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: 101 Stories of Life, Love and Learning.

Clinton, Bill. Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World

Jarvis, F. Washington. With Love and Prayers: A Headmaster Speaks to the Next Generation.

McCain, John. Character is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember.

Wood, John. Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur’s Odyssey to Educate the World’s Children.

You might also be interested in this website with all kinds of information about Altuism:

http://www.humanityquest.com/topic/Index.asp?theme1=altruism