A journey of altruistic discovery: Seeing the other: A collection of nonfiction narratives

• Main Author: Gutierrez, Patricia Isabelle
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2018
• Subjects: Creative nonfiction; Philippine (English); Nonfiction
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/2959
• Institution: De La Salle University

This creative writing thesis focuses on the idea of altruism. The term, as generally known, goes by its synonyms such as kindness, unselfishness, benevolence, and compassion. These are acts that we as human beings witness every day to certain degrees. However, because of the growing global problems that have been causing unprecedented suffering and loss in both human lives and the environment, there is an urgent need for us to maximize our capacity to assist others in alleviating their ordeal. Effective altruism, a term credited to the philosopher Peter Singer, is a recent development that has seen its application in various fields. It purports to optimize the giver's resources to benefit others. I will explore effective altruism by presenting a collection of creative nonfiction works based on the various stages of my life that present the various ways people experience and confront the gestures of altruism in their lives either as the giver or the recipient of the acts of kindness. The reason for choosing creative nonfiction as a tool for this thesis rest on the argument that the genre allows for the personal voice of the writer to emerge as the narratives of real-life stories accentuate instances of depth and insight about the human condition.