What is the price of empathy?

[Yuniheim]

And why the world in general is lacking it?
Does it takes a good person to be empathetic?
And can a "good" person be called good if they don't have empathy?

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

The problem is that empathy is frowned upon in our modern world because we have truly lost the way.

You can see someone suffering horribly and want to empathize with their suffering and I guarantee that someone, somewhere, would already be hard at work trying to come up with reasons why you shouldn't bother emphasizing with that person's plight or ordeal.

It doesn't take a saint to be empathic, but it does take someone who's at least human.

Some of the darkest hours of our history have been the direct result of a lack of empathy, of the death of decency.

 

[RageBurner]

Empathy is viewed, for the most part, as either weakness or insincerity.
Both are extremely warped points of view, of course, views I don't personally agree with, even though you have empaths on every point of the spectrum (those that use this ability for good and otherwise).

There are many ways through which a person can support another, and different people respond better to different stimuli; understanding what makes a person tick, what gets them going, is a form of empathy that does not necessarily equal goodness in an usual sense.

 

[ciro64]

The price of empathy is being aware that the world is a complex place and that your actions have consequences. But by accumulating wisdom you'll become able to act upon this complexity, including whenever you should let yourself be guided by others or to put your own needs first.

 

[JustLooking123]

I believe empathy is a guide in the grand scheme of humanity.
It's not about momentary decisions, but about choosing goals and keeping things sustainable.

Like any other feeling, if it controls us, we can make wrong decisions that cause more loss for everyone.
If we understand it, consciously choose it, and control it, it can lead us toward justice and stable mutual happiness.

 

[RageBurner]

I believe empathy is a guide in the grand scheme of humanity.
It's not about momentary decisions, but about choosing goals and keeping things sustainable.

Like any other feeling, if it controls us, we can make wrong decisions that cause more loss for everyone.
If we understand it, consciously choose it, and control it, it can lead us toward justice and stable mutual happiness.

That's real wisdom, right there.

 

[RageBurner]

The world lacks empathy, perhaps, because we were taught to be guarded, not wanting to be caught unaware. Trust is a rare commodity and one's frailties are a top merchandise, something those without respect will readily exploit for their own gain.

Re-learning to trust, and the other being worthy of that trust; therein lies the challenge.

 

[ciro64]

The world lacks empathy, perhaps, because we were taught to be guarded, not wanting to be caught unaware. Trust is a rare commodity and one's frailties are a top merchandise, something those without respect will readily exploit for their own gain.

Re-learning to trust, and the other being worthy of that trust; therein lies the challenge.

Distrust was a major tool evolution gave us to get there, but now that we're past the tribal stage we must learn to how use such tool with moderation.

Your post actually gave me a great insight for a question that was pondering on the back of my mind for a while:

Spoiler

Moderators really are free of the auto-merger.

 

[RageBurner]

Spoiler

Moderators really are free of the auto-merger.

Honestly, that's one of the truly objective perks, if you ask me, haha.

 

[DunkeyKong]

Spoiler

Moderators really are free of the auto-merger.

They're built different

 

[JustLooking123]

Spoiler

Moderators really are free of the auto-merger.

It's all about control and choosing (or the lack thereof in this case, for both sides )

 

[Zerohour2k12]

A matter of choice I think and weather or not you choose "to empathize" or not boils down on how you yourself define "empathy" and the price is the repercussion of your actions.

 

[Deleted member 884]

Something not everyone feels, like has always been since the dawn of the world.
Empathy doesn't help you in this life, it's just an emotion like any other. Things seem worse these days because people tend to view them this way, but the world always sucked.

 

[IyoTheHelpfulWolf]

And why the world in general is lacking it?
Does it takes a good person to be empathetic?
And can a "good" person be called good if they don't have empathy?

You're more likely to see behavior that is incentivized, and upward mobility is often easier if you're cutthroat. Some people simply lack empathy and have no issue behaving that way, but others tried to do the right thing, got punished repeatedly for it, then decided to be a dick for their own well being. Then you have those that, either because they were lucky enough to be rewarded for it or are simply that headstrong, choose kindness even when it's difficult, but this isn't incentivized as often. This is why the people that gain the most power are often people you don't want to have it.

 

[Aziamuth]

It costs 0 currency and it kicks ass

"There are no benefits to being a good person" skill issue, being a good person is its own benefit

"The world is cruel" skill issue, I am not

 

[PSVitaForever]

I'm just talking personal, not political or anything else: sometimes you are emphatic, meaning for me you care if you know someone is in need... but there are cases in which then you ask yourself: was it worth? To maybe going through trouble and inner pain just because you have chosen to help without turning your head away. I have experienced it more than once, sometime the answer is "yes, it was worth it because I've been useful, even if I've been sad/troubled afterward", sometime I'm sorry to say the answer is "no, because the price of empathy was too high for my health".

 

[fake-kun]

I don't think you need empathy to be a good person. Empathy is simply an ability to understand how other people feel. Most people have it, and yet it doesn't stop them from hurting others.

 

[RageBurner]

I don't think you need empathy to be a good person. Empathy is simply an ability to understand how other people feel. Most people have it, and yet it doesn't stop them from hurting others.

It's because understanding doesn't equal flawlessness, otherwise we'd all have ascended into higher existences of some kind. Still, it's a good quality to have. Empathy will, hopefully, at least allow one to hurt others less severely, less often.

 

[fake-kun]

It's because understanding doesn't equal flawlessness, otherwise we'd all have ascended into higher existences of some kind. Still, it's a good quality to have. Empathy will, hopefully, at least allow one to hurt others less severely, less often.

I doubt that, but let's agree to disagree.

 

[RageBurner]

I doubt that, but let's agree to disagree.

I can do that, you're a cool guy after all.

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

Stealing becomes a crime when a powerful person invokes a law system upon the land. It becomes a sin when that person is a God. It becomes a moral issue when you believe humans would simply be animals without a higher standard.
It becomes worship when you like that God, and philosophy or idealism or whatever choice word when you don't want it to be.

That is only if you accept the law of powerful people as the same as your own moral compass. That often doesn't align.

Most people think they want empathy, or that the world would be better with more of it. Most of the time, they just refuse to grow up. After all, they have no spare attention to offer God or Sophia while they're telling everyone else to do the work they refuse to do themselves.

Maybe. Not everyone has the ability or faculties to do the work that is deemed as "valuable by society". How much potential for creativity have we wasted as a society by forcing a large group of the population to work dead end jobs instead of pursuing art, for example?

I don't have to empathize with lazy fools who know better either by law or virtue to lack me some empathy and say "not everyone is worth the same as everyone else." And I'm a big fan of the sins of the father; children shouldn't get to skirt the consequences of their parent's actions, because it kind of matters what you do. If you don't want to grow up for yourself, think about your kids, at least.

That is insanity. Even the old testament bible agrees that "The child should not suffer the sins of the father."

 

[LawOmega]

The price of empathy is the knowledge of the suffering of others with the realization that almost everyone is out for themselves. Who do you help, who do you cut off and dismiss. We all are the judge, jury and executioner of those before us. The real question then becomes can you step outside of yourself to grant the space for individuality with guarded compassion.

 

[PrismRed]

I can't speak for everyone, me personally, I don't give out my empathy willy nilly, it's only reserved to people that I know and I like. I wouldn't care if a frail old lady die in front of me, I would walk over her body if I don't know who she is.
If you give me a trolley problem and the people involved are complete strangers, I would not hesitate to ran over the 5 people and shoot the other 1 from the other side of the track.

If it's someone I know and I like, I always give my all to help them, no questions asked.

 

[_Lorenzo_]

Like all things, empathy is certainly a personality trait that many people do not possess, but certainly being empathetic does not necessarily determine a good and well-disposed soul toward others. There are those who use this trait to manipulate and achieve their own ends, as someone pointed out just above...

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

I'm wondering if it will get locked.