In his piece “In Favor of Primordial Compassion”, Samuél writes: empathy is an innate human quality that has become confused and commodified in the current epoch. Do you agree that empathy is innate? If so, do you find it id more and more elusive as you attempt to define it? Moreover, how do apathy and empathy coexist in your life?
I agree with Samuél that “reducing it to an idea or definition demeans its inherent value, somehow, resulting in extremely subjective ideas about hierarchical forms of empathy that amount to virtue signaling, moralistic conviction, political posturing and self-righteous noise.” Do you? If so, how do we let empathy coexist with all other human states without reducing them down to definitions that strip them of their true value?
Good questions Murphy. I'll paraphrase some of what I wrote in response to Samuel's original article. Part of what is going on in our ultra-virtue-signaling culture is anything but empathy. It's a show to fool others and worse, ourselves, in how we are worthy of our fortunes. Like original sin. We have killed religion only to have it resurrect in this ugly form.
From a political perspective, I have come to actually have "empathy" for the extreme left for exactly the frustration you touch upon, because they at least have their motives in the right place (although their solutions are terribly destructive, leading to much evil). This in contrast with the mindless consuming types who shop to fill the void, and even worse the elite-virtue-signaling types who are often (have you noticed?) the most privileged among us!
So while how empathy is used needs the scolding that Samuel meted out, the original concept is both innate and essential to a meaningful life. And to answer your other question, indeed in my own life I've come to be apathetic in some of the culture wars because they seem so shrill, extremist and discourage dialog. It's a loss of empathy in a sense, directly because of the screaming voices telling me to have more. So maybe we should be talking less and feeling more... Hope this makes sense.
I've read many articles that talk about the innateness of empathy in kids. I'm not so sure, personally, that every kid has empathy ingrained. In the process of growing up, the child first has to understand that it has a separate identity; and that eventually, they discover that the world doesn't only revolve around them. I see plenty of cruelty in children, selfishness and bullying. I believe that empathy needs to be cultivated, rather than relied on as an innate quality. I tend to think of empathy in the same vein as politeness. It takes more energy, sometimes more time. With more politeness and empathy, we can make a better community. However, we shouldn't expect ourselves to be empathic and polite 100% of the time. In those "other human states" we must accommodate and embrace our imperfections and naughtier selves.
Apr 18, 2023Liked by Minter Dial, Nicci Kadilak, Reena Kapoor
Where would we be if empathy wasn’t innate? Would we have no communities, or would they exist purely based on self-interest? Isn’t a parent caring for their child a form of empathy? A sibling caring for another?
When I try to define empathy I don’t find it elusive, I start to see it everywhere.
Good questions Murphy. I'll paraphrase some of what I wrote in response to Samuel's original article. Part of what is going on in our ultra-virtue-signaling culture is anything but empathy. It's a show to fool others and worse, ourselves, in how we are worthy of our fortunes. Like original sin. We have killed religion only to have it resurrect in this ugly form.
From a political perspective, I have come to actually have "empathy" for the extreme left for exactly the frustration you touch upon, because they at least have their motives in the right place (although their solutions are terribly destructive, leading to much evil). This in contrast with the mindless consuming types who shop to fill the void, and even worse the elite-virtue-signaling types who are often (have you noticed?) the most privileged among us!
So while how empathy is used needs the scolding that Samuel meted out, the original concept is both innate and essential to a meaningful life. And to answer your other question, indeed in my own life I've come to be apathetic in some of the culture wars because they seem so shrill, extremist and discourage dialog. It's a loss of empathy in a sense, directly because of the screaming voices telling me to have more. So maybe we should be talking less and feeling more... Hope this makes sense.
I've read many articles that talk about the innateness of empathy in kids. I'm not so sure, personally, that every kid has empathy ingrained. In the process of growing up, the child first has to understand that it has a separate identity; and that eventually, they discover that the world doesn't only revolve around them. I see plenty of cruelty in children, selfishness and bullying. I believe that empathy needs to be cultivated, rather than relied on as an innate quality. I tend to think of empathy in the same vein as politeness. It takes more energy, sometimes more time. With more politeness and empathy, we can make a better community. However, we shouldn't expect ourselves to be empathic and polite 100% of the time. In those "other human states" we must accommodate and embrace our imperfections and naughtier selves.
Where would we be if empathy wasn’t innate? Would we have no communities, or would they exist purely based on self-interest? Isn’t a parent caring for their child a form of empathy? A sibling caring for another?
When I try to define empathy I don’t find it elusive, I start to see it everywhere.