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Misanthropy vs Altruism - What's the difference?

misanthropy | altruism | Antonyms |

Altruism is a antonym of misanthropy.



As nouns the difference between misanthropy and altruism

is that misanthropy is hatred or dislike of people or mankind while altruism is regard for others, both natural and moral without regard for oneself; devotion to the interests of others; brotherly kindness; selflessness; contrasted with egoism or selfishness.

misanthropy

Noun

  • Hatred or dislike of people or mankind.
  • * 1817, , Author's Preface
  • Hence gloom and misanthropy have become the characteristics of the age in which we live, the solace of a disappointment that unconsciously finds relief only in the wilful exaggeration of its own despair.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=55, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Obama goes troll-hunting , passage=According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy , these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.}}

    Synonyms

    * Timonism (bitter misanthropy)

    Antonyms

    * (dislike of people) altruism, philanthropy

    Hyponyms

    * misandry * misogyny

    Derived terms

    * misanthrope * misanthropic * misanthropist

    altruism

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Regard for others, both natural and moral without regard for oneself; devotion to the interests of others; brotherly kindness; selflessness; contrasted with egoism or selfishness .
  • *, chapter=16
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=The preposterous altruism too!
  • * 1995 , George E. Vaillant, The Wisdom of the Ego , page 68,
  • Altruism' allows doing for others as one would be done by. Unlike reaction formation, which also gives to the object what the self desires, '''altruism''' leaves the self at least partly gratified. Unlike reaction formation, '''altruism''' tempers asceticism with pleasure. Unlike passive aggression and martyrdom, '''altruism''' allows the object to feel blessed and not afflicted. ' Altruism attracts people to the user; martyrdom repels them even as it holds them close in chains.
  • (biology, sociobiology) Action or behaviour that benefits another or others at some cost to the performer.
  • * 2013 December 24, Laura Spinney, Goodwill hunting: Random ants of kindness'', ''(New Scientist) ,
  • Altruism' is a behaviour of an individual that benefits another at its own expense.Being nice to relatives is not pure ' altruism because they share your genes so, by helping them, you promote your own genetic heritage.

    Synonyms

    * (regard for others) philanthropy * (action benefiting others at cost to oneself) philanthropy

    Antonyms

    * (regard for others) egoism, misanthropy (hatred of human race), selfishness

    See also

    * agape (spiritual love for others) * bell the cat * brotherly love * misandry (hatred of males) * misogyny (hatred of females) * selflessness

    References