Altruism is the human concern for the wellbeing of others. Altruism has been shown to be motivated more by social bonding, familiarity and identification of  belongingness to a group. The notion that altruism may be attributed to empathy or guilt has now been rejected. Which one of the following is the CORRECT logical inference based on the information in the above passage?

Correct Answer: Humans engage in altruism due to group identification but not empathy

To determine the correct logical inference, let us analyze the premises provided in the passage:

1. Accepted Motivators: The passage states that altruism is motivated by social bonding, familiarity, and the "identification of belongingness to a group" (which corresponds to group identification).
2. Rejected Motivators: The passage explicitly states that the idea of altruism being attributed to empathy or guilt has now been rejected. This means that neither empathy nor guilt is a valid cause for altruism according to the text.

Now, let us evaluate the given options:

- Humans engage in altruism due to guilt but not empathy: Incorrect, because guilt is explicitly rejected as a motivator.
- Humans engage in altruism due to group identification but not empathy: Correct. Group identification is supported by the text as a motivator ("identification of belongingness to a group"), while empathy is correctly excluded as a motivator.
- Human engage in altruism due to empathy but not guilt: Incorrect, because empathy is rejected as a motivator.
- Human engage in altruism due to empathy but not familiarity: Incorrect, because empathy is rejected and familiarity is supported as a motivator.

Therefore, the only logically sound inference is that humans engage in altruism due to group identification but not empathy.