Beyond Distances: towards Overcoming the Altruism or Selfishness Dichotomy.

Abstract

In the book, the connections between altruism and selfishness are brought to light in asystematic way, facilitating the reader’s understanding of the centrality of the subjectfor the social sciences. The author, investigating this theme in the history of the socialsciences, provides a framework for capturing the urgency of providing a view onaltruism that can lead us beyond the dilemma of selfishness or altruism. In the senseindicated, the book has a double relevance: a theoretical one in terms of offering analternative way to think about altruism/egoism, and about social relationships and theurgency of building altruistic ties to overcome the current global situation. The currentreview is structured around two components: a) some axes of each chapter of the bookare selected and emphasized, and b) the challenge posed by the book is taken up fromthe vector of the centrality of the other as a crucial horizon for building more egalitarianand fairer societies. It ends by insisting on the need to accept the opening of a space forthe elaboration of the common within the framework of a critical reflection on altruism.