Brian Ottens wished he could buy his 8-year-old daughter a better iPad. The first-generation one she’d inherited from her great-grandmother didn’t support the game she wanted to play. But Ottens has ...

I've got a new article in the New Yorker this week about the persistent paradox of altruism. It's subscription only, but here's the beginning: The vampire bat emerges from its cave at the darkest hour ...

The contemporary effective altruism movement seeks to transform philanthropy in two ways: 1) by directing philanthropy to the most important objectives, and 2) by ensuring that philanthropic dollars ...

While humans are inherently social beings, they can interact and connect with others in very different ways. For instance, while some people tend to be more altruistic, others are less prone to ...

This article was featured in New York’s One Great Story newsletter. Sign up here. In 2022, Itsi Weinstock moved to the Bay Area to join a synthetic-cheese start-up. A machine-learning scientist from ...

February 2 marks the birth of one of the most praised and vilified writers of the past century — Ayn Rand, who sold over 30 million books. This makes it an appropriate time to reconsider her ...

Nature is full of animals helping each other out. A classic example is meerkat cooperation. When the group is foraging for food, one individual will head to a vantage point and keep watch for ...

It is one of the unfortunate truisms of the human condition that there is hardly a good idea, noble impulse, or sound suggestion that can't be (and isn't eventually) adopted and bastardized by zealots ...

Altruism is the greatest hidden and apparent ornament. It is a sign of one’s firm belief and strong trust in what the Most Beneficent has provided him. It is a mark of loving one’s brothers, and proof ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about the psychology of leadership, tech and entrepreneurship. Benevolent acts are often motivated by selfish intentions, ...