How to Be a Proponent of Empathy.
A growing interest across disciplines in the nature of empathy has sparked a debate over the place of empathy in morality. Proponents are eager to capitalize on the apparent close connection between empathy and altruism, while critics point to serious problems in our exercise of empathy - we are nat...
| Published in: | Ethical Theory & Moral Practice Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 437 - 452 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Springer Nature
Jun2015
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=102619817&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 102619817 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 13862820 OEY jtl: Ethical Theory & Moral Practice issn: 13862820 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jun2015 vid: 18 iid: 3 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 102619817 10.1007/s10677-014-9525-9 ppf: 437 ppct: 15 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P size: 247KB tig: atl: How to Be a Proponent of Empathy. aug: au: Song, Yujia affil: Philosophy Department, Purdue University, Beering Hall, 100 N. University St West Lafayette 47907 USA su: Empathy Social psychology research Compassion Ethics research Altruism sug: subj: Empathy Social psychology research Compassion Ethics research Altruism keyword: Care Morality Understanding ab: A growing interest across disciplines in the nature of empathy has sparked a debate over the place of empathy in morality. Proponents are eager to capitalize on the apparent close connection between empathy and altruism, while critics point to serious problems in our exercise of empathy - we are naturally biased, empathize too much or too little, and prone to making all sorts of mistakes in empathizing. The proponents have a promising response, that it is not empathy simpliciter, but empathy in some 'proper' form, that does the work they claim for it. This paper aims to propose a cautiously optimistic position for the proponent by rethinking the suggested approach. I argue that empathy plays two important roles in morality, one epistemic and the other relational, but the proponent must be careful not to exaggerate the contribution that empathy, even in its 'proper' form, can make to our moral life. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Ethical Theory & Moral Practice is a copyright of Springer, 2015. All Rights Reserved. item: Ethical Theory & Moral Practice holder: Springer Nature dt: @attributes: year: 2015 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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