text: Altruistic acts are generally celebrated and very well received in Hindu literature and are central to Hindu morality.Philosophy There is a wide range of philosophical views on humans' obligations or motivations to act altruistically.Proponents of ethical altruism maintain that individuals are morally obligated to act altruistically.The opposing view is ethical egoism, which maintains that moral agents should always act in their own self-interest.Both ethical altruism and ethical egoism contrast with utilitarianism, which maintains that each agent should act in order to maximise the efficacy of their function and the benefit to both themselves and their co-inhabitants.A related concept in descriptive ethics is psychological egoism, the thesis that humans always act in their own self-interest and that true altruism is impossible.Rational egoism is the view that rationality consists in acting in one's self-interest (without specifying how this affects one's moral obligations).Effective altruism Effective altruism is a philosophy and social movement that uses evidence and reasoning to determine the most effective ways to benefit others.Effective altruism encourages individuals to consider all causes and actions and to act in the way that brings about the greatest positive impact, based upon their values.It is the broad, evidence-based, and cause-neutral approach that distinguishes effective altruism from traditional altruism or charity.Effective altruism is part of the larger movement towards evidence-based practices.While a substantial proportion of effective altruists have focused on the nonprofit sector, the philosophy of effective altruism applies more broadly to prioritizing the scientific projects, companies, and policy initiatives which can be estimated to save lives, help people, or otherwise have the biggest benefit.