altruism-3
Explanation
This comic tackles the philosophical debate about whether true altruism exists. A character argues that real altruism is "just doing stuff to improve your social standing or spread your genes" -- that is, all seemingly selfless behavior is actually motivated by selfish evolutionary or social incentives. Another character responds that "all good deeds are also nice," suggesting that altruism's effects remain positive regardless of underlying motivation.
The key joke arrives in the final panels. When the first character calls this perspective "beautiful," the second character illustrates a reductio ad absurdum: providing for your kids is altruistic, but compared to "the totality of human suffering," it is "a grain." This satirizes both sides of the altruism debate. The evolutionary psychology crowd reduces all kindness to selfishness, while the utilitarian crowd can make any act of goodness feel insignificant by comparing it to the full scope of global suffering. The comic pokes fun at how intellectualizing morality can drain the joy out of simply being good to the people around you.