2012 May - Choreographic piece "Altruism: Price" Performed at University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy Black Box and Kanuti Gildi SAAL, Tallinn, EST
Altruism-Price from paula salurand on Vimeo.
This performance was my final choreographic work in the Academy where I did my BA degree. The process for the performance began a year before with the duo 'Biospshere', that was performed in University of Chester a year before. I researched Ayn Rand and her radical altruism theories and to discuss that I invited people around. I was drawing lines between personal and cultural aspects. First stereotypical opinions were that Estonians are very altruistic in their manner- lengthening someone else's life with the cost of their own though their actions. Ceris thought that in England altruistic actions were rather valued in wealth and sharing it. Soon the cultural lines disappeared with bringing out people, who are personally into giving without expecting to receive. We were trying to remember any altruistic behaviours from our own life, which wasn't easy.
Altruism is something that does not exist within other animals and in some cases it is comparable with egoism. In cases when a person is giving more than it is healthy becoming a victim of society. It might lead to a parasitic way of living.
Some time later I happened to listen to a broadcast about a mathematician called George Price, who in his healthy years was teaching chemistry in University of Harvard and later in several other academic positions. He got married in year 1947 with his wife, who was Roman Catholic, while he was heavily atheistic himself. The marriage fell apart, but left its marks for the rest of his life. Through the events in his life he became heavily religious himself.
One of the most know works of his is Game theory- Strategic situation systems, and Kin Selection. Kin Selection's good example is the family structure logic of bees, where all the bees are helping the queen bee. He was trying to put his theories into practice helping London homeless people. Early on handing out sandwiches, later on getting more and more involved with giving them a place to stay- his own home. Homeless became his friends. He welcomed even violent alcoholics into his household giving them all he had moving occasionally into his office. In the end period of his life he began losing his mental stability, giving away all of what he got and losing his independence.
George Price started feeling like God wanted to make him feel as poor, miserable and unhealthy as possible. He ended his life in a squat leaving a letter to his beloved ones, saying that it wasn't their fault, but the sum of negative things that had all happened at once.
Altruism is something that does not exist within other animals and in some cases it is comparable with egoism. In cases when a person is giving more than it is healthy becoming a victim of society. It might lead to a parasitic way of living.
Some time later I happened to listen to a broadcast about a mathematician called George Price, who in his healthy years was teaching chemistry in University of Harvard and later in several other academic positions. He got married in year 1947 with his wife, who was Roman Catholic, while he was heavily atheistic himself. The marriage fell apart, but left its marks for the rest of his life. Through the events in his life he became heavily religious himself.
One of the most know works of his is Game theory- Strategic situation systems, and Kin Selection. Kin Selection's good example is the family structure logic of bees, where all the bees are helping the queen bee. He was trying to put his theories into practice helping London homeless people. Early on handing out sandwiches, later on getting more and more involved with giving them a place to stay- his own home. Homeless became his friends. He welcomed even violent alcoholics into his household giving them all he had moving occasionally into his office. In the end period of his life he began losing his mental stability, giving away all of what he got and losing his independence.
George Price started feeling like God wanted to make him feel as poor, miserable and unhealthy as possible. He ended his life in a squat leaving a letter to his beloved ones, saying that it wasn't their fault, but the sum of negative things that had all happened at once.