Rhetorical Analysis

In the article “Altruism: New Perspectives of Research on a Classical Theme in Sociology of Morality” by Andrey Bykov, a professor of Sociology in HSE University, argues how sociologists should continue to study altruism. Bykov establishes his objective through the use of informative and descriptive language. He supports his claim by diving into the history and development of altruistic behavior discussed by other scholars: “In what follows, I first consider key ideas concerning altruism in some classical sociological theories – namely, those of Comte, Spencer and Durkheim” (Bykov, 798.) By presenting such research and crediting other scholars, Bykov implies that the article will be very informative and trustworthy while giving the reader a positive impression that the research is ethical. He further provides a broader understanding of altruism and how it develops over time. The author identifies how many other scholars and researchers discuss altruism from a moral and social standpoint to prove the connection between altruism and sociology. The behavioral influence of altruism and its connections with egoism and other aspects of life give the readers a better image of how vast and complex altruism is. Through such development of logic, the author creates a valid reason and invites sociologists to discuss altruism in depth. Bykov introduces different perspectives like altruism developed to better relations with others over time, and in this sense, some argue that true altruism may not exist since it implies an objective behind it. He also says others believe altruism is just a moral thing to establish relations and doesn’t necessarily imply some other objective. This dichotomy of altruism and egoism defines and characterizes altruism through different moral standpoints. It creates a sense of concern yet curiosity for readers to contemplate their norm of altruism and engages them with lingering feelings. Bykov includes other fields of study that continue to study the uses of altruism from their perspective. For example, the psychological analysis of altruism helps experts better understand humans and their nature. As he presents other research of altruism, he also urges experts in sociology to look deeper into altruism. He encourages them to better understand altruism because of the potential it holds as a subject in sociology to understand human interactions and society.

Book Review

Have you ever wondered what the ideal woman is? This question may be vague today because everyone is unique and not bound by gender. However, this wasn’t the case for many women throughout history since they had a specific role in society for which a characteristic made them ideal. Western fairy tales reflected such idealism throughout history in which women had to learn to be attractive to men. This notion evolved in many ways, but one characteristic considered ideal even today is purity. While purity has been the main characteristic of several fairytale heroines, it doesn’t justify the ideal women of society. The article “Altruism: New Perspectives of Research on a Classical Theme in Sociology of Morality” by Andrey Bykov discusses the idea of altruism throughout history, which gives an in-depth insight into this notion.

Throughout this article, Bykov defends altruism as a topic that must be researched and studied in sociology. He provides several logical examples of various viewpoints of altruism that developed over time. While his experience as a lecturer at the Department of Sociology and a researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences shows how worthy he is to discuss this topic, his sources are even more reassuring. His passion for sociology shines through his writing as the afternoon sun, and it compels scholars to discover the vast world of altruism with him. Bykov discusses the history of the meaning of altruism and the nature behind the social impact of altruism. He starts by discussing how different sociologists discuss whether or not altruism is selfish due to human behavior. One sociologist stated that it is selfish since people sacrifice something for others to get something back for their benefit. Hence, people use altruism to fulfill their egoism. I agree that altruism occurs subconsciously, and people practice it to show benevolence; however, many people don’t find it obligatory to be kind to others. For instance, in “Cinderella,” her character is naturally kind to others and sacrifices her desires for her family. I also believe there was selfishness behind that benevolent intent since she had to be submissive to her stepmother to survive and hopefully get some freedom in return. Hence, humans had to adopt purity and altruism for their interests because it is impossible for a character to sacrifice themself just to be trampled over by the ones they do it for. Throughout history, such idealistic Cinderella-like character was something women had to adapt to survive in that society.

However, Bykov introduces how others believe that altruism is the opposite of egoism because it affects society and benefits everyone instead of the individual. Altruism is a trait that naturally occurs out of free will, and people practice it for their own dignity. This perspective is accurate to a certain extent since a society’s morals can change as they did throughout history, so the extent a person can be kind to others depends on what they have to sacrifice. People have to be kind in today’s society for reputation, survival, and motivation. In Basile’s “Cinderella Cat,” Zezolla wasn’t very benevolent and was perceived to be malicious. This portrayal of Cinderella shows one of the original stories of “Cinderella” without the censorship added. It shows how people have modified several pieces of literature to manipulate social standards.

The author further discusses how modern-day altruism is integrated into our moral standards to motivate an ethical society. People embrace altruism today to make better relationships and accept it as natural. It makes sense because if altruism is objective, it takes away the motivational nature to make people feel good about being kind. If people are exposed to this objective intent, they feel discouraged about their upright altruistic behavior. Such characteristics shouldn’t be imposed on others as a role given by society. Instead, they should be developed as an aspect of their dignity and morals.

The author’s objective of sociologists researching altruism is very plausible because it is an intricate and fascinating topic. Such discussions can greatly give better morals to develop in society like the Western fairy tales should remove roles implied on others. Neither purity nor altruism should be an ideal role of someone because it denotes people may have to sacrifice for the betterment of others as was expected of women.