Philosophy
Empathy, very simply, is the ability to place yourself in another's position and understand things from his point of view. It's a skill that we are naturally equipped with, but not one we often choose to exercise... probably because it's a lot easier and convenient not to. One could make a pretty convincing case that becoming more empathic could truly solve many of the problems that affect the world, from the personal to the political and international.
In the following powerful TEDTalk presentation, sociologist Sam Richards attempts to demonstrate that point by setting up a challenge: can we understand -not approve, but understand- the motivation of an Iraqui insurgent?
I'll just re-quote Dostovevsky:
- Monica Lewinski - The Price Of Shame
Almost overnight, and without almost anyone knowing the person behind the name, her name became an infamous global phenomenon, and her reputation became permanently tarnished as political, ideological and commercial forces used her circumstances to suit...
- John Searle - Our Shared Condition: Consciousness
Studying consciousness is notoriously difficult, and until only the last couple of decades, very few intellectuals (apart from philosophers and psychologists) dared to even think about how to try to understand it. But with the rise of new disciplines...
- 5 Things Every Presenter Needs To Know About People
If you haven't already, at some point in your life you will most likely have to deliver some sort of presentation to an audience. And if you want it to go well, you need to make sure you know your material inside and out. But while mere knowledge...
- David Brooks - The Social Animal
Our mastery over the physical world over the past few centuries has been based on our newly acquired ability to understand the structural intricacies of that world. Understanding that world has required that we make certain reductive assumptions about...
- Temple Grandin - The World Needs All Kinds Of Minds
For quite a long time, autism was investigated by researchers who did their very best to explain a phenomenon with which they had no personal experience. While their research was helpful, it did not manage to capture or understand the personal subjectivity...
Philosophy
Sam Richards - A Radical Experiment in Empathy
Empathy, very simply, is the ability to place yourself in another's position and understand things from his point of view. It's a skill that we are naturally equipped with, but not one we often choose to exercise... probably because it's a lot easier and convenient not to. One could make a pretty convincing case that becoming more empathic could truly solve many of the problems that affect the world, from the personal to the political and international.In the following powerful TEDTalk presentation, sociologist Sam Richards attempts to demonstrate that point by setting up a challenge: can we understand -not approve, but understand- the motivation of an Iraqui insurgent?
I'll just re-quote Dostovevsky:
While nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer,.
nothing is harder than to understand him.
- Monica Lewinski - The Price Of Shame
Almost overnight, and without almost anyone knowing the person behind the name, her name became an infamous global phenomenon, and her reputation became permanently tarnished as political, ideological and commercial forces used her circumstances to suit...
- John Searle - Our Shared Condition: Consciousness
Studying consciousness is notoriously difficult, and until only the last couple of decades, very few intellectuals (apart from philosophers and psychologists) dared to even think about how to try to understand it. But with the rise of new disciplines...
- 5 Things Every Presenter Needs To Know About People
If you haven't already, at some point in your life you will most likely have to deliver some sort of presentation to an audience. And if you want it to go well, you need to make sure you know your material inside and out. But while mere knowledge...
- David Brooks - The Social Animal
Our mastery over the physical world over the past few centuries has been based on our newly acquired ability to understand the structural intricacies of that world. Understanding that world has required that we make certain reductive assumptions about...
- Temple Grandin - The World Needs All Kinds Of Minds
For quite a long time, autism was investigated by researchers who did their very best to explain a phenomenon with which they had no personal experience. While their research was helpful, it did not manage to capture or understand the personal subjectivity...