This book offers an innovative focus on altruism, in which the concept is considered as not just a moral or psychological phenomenon, but as a foundational component of human identity. It explores altruism from both theoretical and applied perspectives, making use of the second-person philosophy to shift enquiry from self-centred ethics to relational identity. With an interdisciplinary scope that spans the fields of philosophy, neuroscience, economics, medicine, ecology, communication, pedagogy, theology and sociology, this contributed volume provides a rich and holistic understanding of altruism. Its international contributors offer an expert response to current anthropological and social crises by way of a new paradigm - one of proximity and care. The book will be of interest to a mixed audience of scholars and students in the fields of philosophy, theology, psychology, sociology, education, medical humanities, and communication studies, particularly those engaged in interdisciplinary research on altruism.

Luca Valera is Associate Professor and Director of the Department of Philosopy, Universidad de Valladolid, in Spain, as well as Associate Researcher at the Cape Horn International Center in Chile, and Adjunct Professor at the Bioethics Centre, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He holds a PhD in bioethics from the Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma (Italy), having previously studied philosophy at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano (Italy). His main research interests are in bioethics, environmental philosophy, and the philosophy of emerging technologies.

Maria Teresa Russo holds a PhD in Philosophy and Human Sciences Theory and is full Professor of Moral Philosophy and Bioethics at Roma Tre University, Italy. She is also Visiting Professor at the University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès (France), the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), the Pontifical University of Santiago de Chile, and the Catholic University of Valencia (Spain). She serves as a member of the scientific boards of the research journals Per la Filosofia, Critical Hermeneutics, and Aurora: Papeles del Seminario María Zambrano, and is on the scientific boards of both the Interdisciplinary Forum on Anthropology and the Inter-university Centre for the Study of Utopias. Her primary research focuses on ethical issues of healthcare and embodiment, contemporary Spanish and French philosophy, and women’s studies.