You are probably right about empathy “en masse”. I actually don’t think that true empathy can occur that way. Cant, yes. Huge difference between cant and empathy. But it can happen at the individual level millions of times.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the often difficult interplay between true empathy and respect. Is it possible to hav…
You are probably right about empathy “en masse”. I actually don’t think that true empathy can occur that way. Cant, yes. Huge difference between cant and empathy. But it can happen at the individual level millions of times.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the often difficult interplay between true empathy and respect. Is it possible to have one without the other? How can one possibly respect another if one buys into a preexisting narrative about who he/she is instead of recognizing their individuality? And how can one fully empathize without full internal recognition of human commonality?
Many on the Left accuse those on the the far right of racism--that is, having neither empathy nor respect. Reflecting on these questions makes me think that many on the Left are throwing stones from glass houses. For “the soft bigotry of low expectations” certainly evinces no true respect. And without true respect---of human commonality--how can there possibly be true empathy?
"Is it possible to have one without the other? How can one possibly respect another if one buys into a preexisting narrative about who he/she is instead of recognizing their individuality?"
Yeah, I think respect is foundational for pretty much any positive emotion or sense one could have towards another person. And yes, *aaaabsoluuuutely*, this respect is very notably absent among many on the extreme Left just as it is from many on the extreme Right. It just manifests in different ways.
You might appreciate https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-age-of-cant. Theodore Dalrymple is a truly fascinating individual. He’s been around the block and then some both around the world and as a prison psychiatrist in Britain.
Self righteous scolds almost by definition have the least skin in the game.
You are probably right about empathy “en masse”. I actually don’t think that true empathy can occur that way. Cant, yes. Huge difference between cant and empathy. But it can happen at the individual level millions of times.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the often difficult interplay between true empathy and respect. Is it possible to have one without the other? How can one possibly respect another if one buys into a preexisting narrative about who he/she is instead of recognizing their individuality? And how can one fully empathize without full internal recognition of human commonality?
Many on the Left accuse those on the the far right of racism--that is, having neither empathy nor respect. Reflecting on these questions makes me think that many on the Left are throwing stones from glass houses. For “the soft bigotry of low expectations” certainly evinces no true respect. And without true respect---of human commonality--how can there possibly be true empathy?
It is, as you say Steve, “fake empathy,” or cant.
"Is it possible to have one without the other? How can one possibly respect another if one buys into a preexisting narrative about who he/she is instead of recognizing their individuality?"
Yeah, I think respect is foundational for pretty much any positive emotion or sense one could have towards another person. And yes, *aaaabsoluuuutely*, this respect is very notably absent among many on the extreme Left just as it is from many on the extreme Right. It just manifests in different ways.
You might appreciate https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-age-of-cant. Theodore Dalrymple is a truly fascinating individual. He’s been around the block and then some both around the world and as a prison psychiatrist in Britain.
Self righteous scolds almost by definition have the least skin in the game.