Oxford professor of philosophy Dan Zahavi asks whether empathy is our best base for morality? We have all been encouraged to imagine how it feels to be in someone else's shoes.
But is empathy really a good base for our morality?
Might there be some truth to the new arguments emerging that empathy is so biased and parochial that anybody who wishes to promote social justice should avoid it at all costs?
Director of the Centre for Subjectivity Research, Dan Zahavi, probes the value of empathy.
Gives an overview of the phenomenologists definition of empathy. He says;
Empathy is the grasp of the here and now of the expressions of the other
Empathy is one way of knowing the expressions of others.
Has the self other distinction
Empathy is not moral but is a foundation of morality.
"I can recognize the sorrow in your face without the use of imagination."
They say empathy is not affective or cognitive
"To Eradicate empathy from our lives, would be like blinding ourselves."
Affective Empathy - a popular view - is not empathy
it is affect sharing
the proponents do not give a clear explanation of what this 'sharing' means.
the proponents who have this view, they do not clearly explain it.
"Often the very concept of sharing is not defined properly (do we share an emotion in the same way we share a toothbrush or a cab to the airport?"
shares story of the coworker that is joyful because they go a promotion. Sense the joy but do not share it because you are actually feeling envious. tells other stories as examples.
he explores this topic
(Cognitive Empathy) Imaginative Perspective taking - is not empathy
To empathize with someone is to imagine what it would be like to be in the other's shoes
Phenomenologists say it's good to be able to do but it's not empathy
Imaginative is different from the direct experience.
with imaginative you can be wrong
Can lead to projection as the imagination trys to project ones views onto the other.
He explores the Role of Empathy in Morality
Is empathy moral?
The full video is on the IAI website behind a paywall
Otter
What are the key differences between the phenomenological account of empathy and the view of empathy as effective sharing and imaginative perspective taking?
The key differences are:
The phenomenological account views empathy as a form of understanding the expressive meaning and psychological presence of others, rather than effective sharing of emotions.
Empathy is seen as a distinct capacity from imaginative perspective taking, as the phenomenologists argue they can occur independently of each other.
The phenomenologists reject the notion of empathy as emotional sharing or contagion, arguing empathy preserves the difference between self and other rather than creating fusion.
They emphasize empathy allows a direct, experiential grasp of the other's experiences, which is different from inferring their mental states through imagination or projection.
References
Theodor Lipps
says empathy is a way of knowing
external objects
introspection
Knowledge of other minds
empathy is imitation and projection
Husserl, Scheler, Stein
disagree with empathy is imitation and projection