Distinguishing weak from strong altruism by mechanism alone risks obscuring the unified explanatory target—other-benefiting behavior at fitness cost—that sociobiology and ethics both seek to explain.

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Explanatory target(as used in describing what both science and ethics aim to explain): The main thing you're trying to explain or understand—in this case, the core phenomenon of why people help others even at a cost to themselves.
Fitness cost(as used in evolutionary biology and ethics): In biology, a disadvantage that reduces an organism's chances of surviving or reproducing; more broadly, any significant personal loss or sacrifice.
Sociobiology(Broad disciplinary definition): The evolutionary study of human and non-human social behavior, arising out of work in population genetics, population ecology, and ethology
Weak altruism vs. strong altruism(as used in distinguishing types of helpful behavior): Weak altruism is helping others when it also benefits you; strong altruism is helping others even when it costs you something valuable. The distinction asks: does the motive matter, or only the outcome?

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