<p>I'm not altruistic under normal circumstances. But on the other hand, I have been known to be particularly helpful when asked for advice - I even probably go overboard in what I say.</p>
<p>I find the model of the rational egoist the easiest to follow. People may call me amoral, but I have an easy rebuttal: that I respond to environmental cues, and see that there is already plenty of people who are more altruistic than me, so anything altruistic I can do is of limited marginal utility. I also don't like treating the symptoms when the causes are left untreated (a lot of altruistic organizations only treat the symptoms). I'm not a particularly empathetic person anyways, so I'm most comfortable devoting my energies to my own study.</p>
<p>But when I see a situation where I can actually change something, then I'm more inclined to take action.</p>
<p>This is also how I explain why I sometimes seem to care more about other animals than about people (I really don't do anything altruistic here either - it's just my position on Internet debates) - since most people are already devoting their attention on helping other people rather than on helping animals. The fact is that animals aren't going to receive any attention at all if there aren't a small number of people who care more about animals than about people (because their limited utility would do a lot more to the animals they're trying to help than any people who they otherwise wouldn't be helping).</p>
<p>I've never read Ayn Rand either.</p>
<p>To be honest, I don't interact particularly well with altruists. A lot of altruists seem to be "generic" with their altruistic acts - that is, they don't really discriminate between which acts are more demanding of attention and which acts are less demanding of attention. So this often seems to result in a lot of superficial devotion to many causes, and little in-depth devotion to any specific ones. Another reason though is merely philosophy + personality + interests - those who are altruistic very rarely share the philosophical views and interests that I hold or admire. So whenever I receive another "Save Darfur" message, I just shrug my shoulders aside. Personally, I'm more interested in whale conservation. It's something I care more about - and I can do more to that cause than about Darfur, and the decision is entirely up to my own and does not affect those of others (that is, if I were forced to make the choice of donating between causes - a choice I wouldn't make now). Though for now I'm just my own individual, liable and responsible for my own actions, trying to make the best out of myself while I'm still learning.</p>