FOR A WORLD that's messed up, we sure have a lot of goodness being shoved in our faces.

Why such munificence? Being good feels good, of course (unless it involves not eating cheese), but apparently it also makes us live longer.

At least that's the theory put forth in the new book "Why Good Things Happen to Good People: The Exciting New Research That Proves the Link Between Doing Good and Living a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life." Citing his own research as well as numerous other studies, Stephen Post, a professor of bioethics at Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine, and co-writer Jill Neimark suggest that there's a direct connection between altruism and physical health.

A 2005 study from Stanford University, for example, found a link between volunteerism and "later mortality" among the elderly. A large survey of teenagers in Vermont found that those who volunteered were less likely to engage in risky behaviors. And in a British study the authors call "truly remarkable," neighborhoods that had high rates of volunteerism were found to have lower rates of crime, better schools and "happier, healthier residents."

OK, so one man's "truly remarkable" is another's "no duh." Don't communities that have higher rates of volunteerism also tend to have higher tax bases with which to fund police departments and schools? And don't they also have more golf courses and gelato shops to keep residents happy and healthy?

Still, as frustratingly facile as "Why Good Things Happen to Good People" is (it contains such sentences as "Every time Christina Noble helps an orphan child in Vietnam or Mongolia, she helps the little girl inside herself."), it's also more honest about the psychology of altruism than the authors seem to realize. That's because in trying to convince us that doing good makes us live longer, they present "goodness" as a concept that has more to do with individual ego than anything else. Like a child who receives gushing praise for behavior that should be a matter of course, we're being told that ordinary compassion is, in fact, extraordinary. Therefore, hearty self-congratulations are in order.