altruism and egotism are two sides of the same coin and reflect our intensely social natures as human beings. We need other people, and we need to be needed. We can find intense fulfillment in putting the lives of others ahead of our own (as we do with our own children), and most of us long for a cause, even if it is only to try to stave off ecological disaster by feeding the few remaining sparrows in our backyard.
