Empathy

Empathy can be a very controversial topic when discussing whether or not its something you're born with and whether or not certain actions are empathetic or just selfish. Within philosopher, Jeremy Rifkin's Empathetic Civilization video he discusses how he believes that empathy is not something you're born with but it is something you learn overtime. In other words, you have to understand yourself first before you can understand other people. "Empathy is the opposite of Utopia"(Rifkin). Rifkin talks about how perfection is not real and when you walk down the street and see the perfect suburbs with mown lawns and clean streets that you aren't living the reality of the world. People forget where the trash goes and that other people and animals are dealing with the horrors of their consequences. Therefore once people learn that they can do something they are gaining empathy. When people recycle they are performing an empathetic act. Therefore, once people feel acceptance that they are doing something wrong and they are in a stable position, that is when they perform the most empathetic acts. In philosopher, Roman Krznaric's The Power of Outrospection video he discusses the evolution of empathy. He mentions that in the 20th century, the best way to learn about yourself was to look inside and that was how you gained empathy, however in the 21st century the best way to attain empathy is by learning about other people. Socrates once mentioned, "'The way to live a wise and good life is to know thyself'" (Krznaric). Krznaric supports the 21st century way to access empathy and therefore debates against Socrates. Empathetic bonds come from the ability to show solidarity and share common experiences with people as this allows people to relate to each other. As more and more people reach out to other people the more empathetic bonds form and affective empathy through mirrored emotions occur. When one person is nice then so is the other and so on. It is good to know yourself but being isolated is negative and the best way to learn about yourself is through other people and experiences.

While empathy allows people to make the right decisions it can also skew the idea of help. Within Sir Ken Robinson's Changing Paradigms, he talks about the school system and how although our society is evolving, the school system has remained the same. It is meant for an age that has been long graduated and it is not benefiting us today. In fact it is alienating millions of kids. "There are two types of people: academic and nonacademic. Smart people and non-smart people. And the consequence of that is that many brilliant people think they're not because they've been judged against this particular view of the mind"(Robinson). ADHD has been rising and as a result, parents and teachers have been drugging up their kids on Ritalin and Aderal to get them to focus. School has been known more and more increasingly as an anaesthetic experience where kids are deadening themselves to this part of their lives. While parents and teachers think they're being empathetic towards kids by giving them the opportunity to learn and putting them on medication to help them focus, they are very wrong. It would be empathetic if they updated the school system because that way school would be a more aesthetic experience and it is very likely that ADHD would be reduced because kids would actually be interested in school because they could relate to it better. The school system example stems from the idea that you are helping someone when you really aren't, which is explained in philosopher Slavoj Zizek's video, First as Tragedy, Then as Farce. Zizek talks about how people aid other people but only to a certain extent. For example, people donate money to charities or buy TOMS shoes because they know that they are helping out and this makes them feel better for themselves. However, buying a struggling person a pair of shoes or providing money that will get them a glass of water doesn't change their living situations. "The worst slave owners were those who were kind to their slaves"(Zizek). This exemplifies the hipocracy of charity because people who give could do better instead of just doing enough to make themselves feel better because they believe they are being empathetic. The best way to lend a hand would to experience it yourself as to gain sympathy and understand the situation in which you are helping.