“Russ”, altruism is indeed a feeling. It often is also an action following from the feeling. I’m not certain if it can also be an action not necessarily following from such a feeling. It’s too early in the day to be wracking my brain over such distinctions, although I’ll note that doubtless there are some people who engage cynically in “altruistic” acts to pump up their social rankings in the eyes of politically important people (and I use the word “politically” in the broadest sense).
“William Jonas”, it says something about your character that you realised that ignoring the cry for help, even if it did turn out to be from a self-Darwinising idiot and not an unfortunate caught a situation not of his own making, would have not allowed you to enjoy the earliest morning fishing. Was this altruism? Perhaps. I’ve already commented in altruism in other people. Or it might have been enlightened self-interest … encouraging by implication the “good karma” to go around (in many people, there’ll be an urge to “return the favor” to some other stranger in the future, with a ripple effect that might very well reach you somehow). BTW, I agree with you that “This is one of the best commentary threads I have ever read.”
I think this is enough for now. I won’t turn this into a pages-long response to some other posters.
