Altruism is the human concern for the wellbeing of others. Altruism has been shown to be motivated more by social bonding, familiarity and identification of belongingness to a group. The notion that altruism may be attributed to empathy or guilt has now been rejected.
Which one of the following is the CORRECT logical inference based on the information in the above passage?
A. Humans engage in altruism due to guilt but not empathy
B. Humans engage in altruism due to empathy but not guilt
C. Humans engage in altruism due to identification by group but not empathy
D. Humans engage in altruism due to empathy but not familiarity
GATE 2022 · General Aptitude · Passage Reading · medium
Answer: C. Humans engage in altruism due to identification by group but not empathy
Identify what the passage affirms: The passage says altruism is motivated by social bonding, familiarity, and identification of belongingness to a group.
Identify what the passage rejects: The passage explicitly states the notion that altruism is due to empathy or guilt has been rejected.
Evaluate each option: A says guilt but not empathy - both are rejected by the passage, so saying guilt motivates is wrong. B says empathy but not guilt - empathy is rejected. D says empathy but not familiarity - empathy is rejected. C says group identification (affirmed) but not empathy (correctly rejected) - this is the only option fully consistent with the passage.