Grant Philanthropic Advisors | Are humans generous by nature?

FEBRUARY 2022

Dear Reader,

I started a new class in my master's program in philanthropic studies in January. One of the first assignments was to answer the question: "Are humans inclined to behave generously by nature?" To be honest, I wasn't sure how to answer.

I took a fresh look at the idea of generosity and started observing close to home. Every morning, I walk out my front door to observe a curious thing. Neighbors take turns moving each other’s newspapers from the sidewalk to their front doors. This gesture seems to be little imposition to the giver and yet is meaningful to the receiver on a cold morning.

I move inside to my kitchen table to unfurl the paper to stories spelling out humanity’s stubbornness, unwillingness to work together, and general incivility toward each other.

How can both anecdotes be true?

Fragmented Society

Look around. Culture wars are raging everywhere. In the last two years, humans have struggled with the notion of sacrificing some of their individual rights to protect the public’s health. We see tribalism at local, national and global levels of politics. David Brook’s recent article in The New York Times details how America is coming apart at the seams with increased engagement in risky and destructive behaviors. Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy’s data suggests that household giving is declining year over year. Without the generosity of MacKenzie Scott, overall giving would have declined last year. What does this spell for the future of humanity?

What is going on?

The good news is, researchers believe humans are generous and empathetic by nature. We need to better understand the science and the behaviors that drive prosocial actions so we may mitigate the uncivil, selfish behaviors.

Going back to the example in my neighborhood: At the most basic level, the newspaper delivery is explained as direct reciprocity. If you get my paper this week, I will get your paper next week. This network of people is also setting up a system of positive fitness interdependence. In essence, our neighbors are creating a better quality of life for others by saving an elderly person the trip down the porch stairs on a cold morning.

Perhaps another element at play is Biologist William Hamilton’s Green Beard Effect. This theory supposes that humans are more likely to help other humans that physically resemble themselves. One recognizes genetic similarities and this triggers altruistic behaviors. While we are not blood relatives on my street, we tend to look alike. Are we helping each other out simply because we look alike? If that’s the case, how likely are we to connect with those who don’t look like us?

Researchers Stephanie Preston and Frans de Waal argue that humans and certain animal species show empathy regardless of shared genetic traits. Infants can pick up on the distress of those around them by crying themselves. By the time humans turn one, they show signs of helping and imitating emotions observed in others. I know this intuitively from raising my own children, but it is helpful to have science confirm it. Interestingly, Preston and de Waal point out that overt empathetic behaviors wane with age and experiences. If one limits their experiences, it would make sense they would lose the muscle of empathy and therefore offer less generous behaviors.

Researcher Sara Konrath offers a deeper understanding of empathy. She unpacks the complexities of empathy which drives generosity. She outlines the various types: emotional contagion; imagining yourself in others shoes; perspective taking; and empathic accuracy. While these types run a risk of causing the observer/feeler to suffer in their connection or the perceived emotions could be used as manipulation, the overall moral implications of empathy are positive. She points to perspective taking combined with empathic accuracy as the best way to connect with people who do not look like us, live like us, or share the same points of view.

How do we catalyze more generous behaviors if we’re wired to operate that way?

Connection! The pandemic has taken its toll on our ability to connect. Perhaps this is one explanation for the behaviors David Brooks details. In my experience, meaningful connection helps us to understand each other better and the science backs this up. Looking at people eye to eye can offer an authentic perspective into one’s world view. Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, calls for proximity to drive more empathy. “We’ve got to find ways to get closer to the poor, the neglected, the abused, the excluded, the marginalized, because it’s in proximity to these communities that we hear things that we will not otherwise hear; we will see things that we will not otherwise see,” Moreover, Adam Grant encourages us to use connection to unlearn habits and let go of long held opinions that may not serve us in his book Think Again.

I want to add one note here that the field of philanthropy should reconsider its methodologies in how it quantifies generosity. Mutual aid, grassroots giving, crowd funding, and informal volunteering are largely missed as noted by Lucy Bernholz in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Perhaps we are continuing with generosity, but it is just taking different forms.

Digesting the news has made me increasingly worried. However, reading the research on empathy has taught me that humans are inherently generous. To build on this, we must actively work to connect with people, especially those who are different than us. While taking care of our neighbors is important, we must widen our circles to strengthen the muscles of empathy and generosity. We are all capable of doing so.

What’s at risk if we don’t? Our civil society.

Gratefully,

Kaky

KAKY M. GRANT / PRINCIPAL

843-276-3974

Kaky@grantphilanthropy.com

www.grantphilanthropy.com

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