4 ms·
> empathy has nothing to do with care I find this a remarkable statement, what do you take empathy to be? Do you think that people can realistically care for o
by jf- 8y ago
> empathy has nothing to do with care
I find this a remarkable statement, what do you take empathy to be? Do you think that people can realistically care for others in a purely cognitive, non-emotional sense?
- chasd00 8y agoYes, I do. I cannot empathize with a goldfish because I can't know what it's like to be a goldfish but i can care for it because I know its needs. I can empathize with someone who is ill because they are human and I've been ill but i cannot care for them because I don't know their needs.
- jf- 8y agoSo if you saw your goldfish being clearly uncomfortable or in pain, would you have an emotional reaction to it, making you feel bad for it? That’s empathy. You don’t need to imagine the goldfish's daily routine to experience this. In the absence of this emotion, there is no incentive to perform the mechanistic actions that constitute “caring for” it.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- WalterSear 8y agoEmpathy is the process of correctly evaluating another's motives and internal state. While it's frequently assumed, it doesn't follow that one must necessarily feel sympathy for them. You need empathy to outwit an opponent, for example.