Empathy....

Dear John, I have discovered that a capacity for empathy is hard-wired into humans. This means they are designed for goodness and effective moral choices. The only trouble is that political and religious ideology can be used to override natural empathy. Humans then can be led to hate, kill, and destroy in the name of God.

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People & Blogs

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• philosophy
• politics
• religion
• and
• psychology

[KOKOKUKU]

"""Dear John, I have discovered that a capacity for empathy is hard-wired into humans. This means they are designed for goodness and effective moral choices. The only trouble is that political and religious ideology can be used to override natural empathy. Humans then can be led to hate, kill, and destroy in the name of God."""

So let´s all hate those who support religion.

What a nice capacity for empathy that you have. :DDDDDDDDDD

[philosopher8]

It is ideology that tells us to kill in God's name, not God, and it is only when we mistake the one for the other that our natural human capacity for empathy can be overridden and we "can be led to hate, kill, and destroy in the name of God." To oppose this is NOT to oppose religion. It is to oppose the ideology that "colonizes" religion and strives to substitute for it. This is a matter of clarity and intelligence not of "hate."

[holiday311]

As crazy as you look and sound I feel you brother. Good message. Check out my "Empathy".

[catgivens]

Bravo!

"the rational mind does not take truth on authority, because truth IS authority"

[bigandlittle]

Also, not all people feel compassion, care, love for others to the same degree (it depends on how much they receive of these things growing up)... but make NO mistake, we are all born with the CAPACITY to feel these things. That means something. Think about that.

[bigandlittle]

EVERYONE including YOU has a need to contribute. To the world, to others, to life. You have a need to matter, to feel important, to feel valuable. Yes, all people are born with these needs, but they are LATENT. They develop as we develop. Don't think so? Ask yourself why every person, in every culture, at every age, gender, race all over the world, benefits by receiving love, care, respect, empathy, appreciation, affection. We all possess universal human needs which develop as we mature.

[ToxicOdiousOne]

Empathy is irrelevant. It's irrelevant for judges and it's irrelevant for me. There no law saying I have to care about others. Capitalism is about selfishness, because man is a selfish creature.

[ToxicOdiousOne]

Humans are not hardwired to care about others or we are but boys are socialized to be selfish, while girls are socialized to be sensitive and caring. We are socialized to care. Babies know nothing. Humans are taught every behavior and every thought.

[ToxicOdiousOne]

Man is a selfish creature.This why capitalism with it's private ownership works so well. Empathy is unnatural. This collectivist mentality goes against our best selfish interest for survival. Giving property to those who do not deserve it is immoral. Charity and welfare are immoral. They are not noble moral aims. The only impoverish society. When people get free money notice there is no incentive to repay it in kind?

[BrettMariee]

"I understand what you said and it is a really good way of looking at things."

[hadious]

i think empathy exist when you have big imagination..

[bvspmarques]

In addition to what you said justsomebody13, the biological explanation for empathy is also related to the mirror neuron (for further reading see Daniel Goleman's book: Social Inteligence)