Argues that meaning and purpose sustain people through suffering beyond narrow self-interest.
Founder — edit Purpose beyond self-interest
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I believe that purpose beyond self-interest gives unity a reason to endure. Shared meaning helps people sacrifice short-term gain for long-term good.
- Confidence
- Medium
- What could disprove it
- Show that societies with no transcendent purpose outperform purposeful societies in cooperation and benevolence.
- Current support
Pure self-interest alone struggles to sustain sacrifice for strangers or future generations.
Communities with shared purpose weather crises better than those without.
Sample: World Happiness Report 2024 — sense of purpose and social support rank among top predictors of national wellbeing scores.
- Supporting resources
- Studies, data, books, and references that help express and test this belief.
Annual cross-country data on wellbeing — social support and sense of purpose correlate with happiness.
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