Deep Understanding: Empathy

The second meeting on the central topic will explore empathy, considered the foundation of ethics.  While a separate topic from the know-how sense of understanding we sought last time, by putting the two back-to-back one can hope (can't I?) that we might bridge the gulf between head and heart....

We will start the meeting off as we usually do, by sharing "stories" involving... [read more]

The second meeting on the central topic will explore empathy, considered the foundation of ethics.  While a separate topic from the know-how sense of understanding we sought last time, by putting the two back-to-back one can hope (can't I?) that we might bridge the gulf between head and heart....

We will start the meeting off as we usually do, by sharing "stories" involving empathy.  It's difficult to see how these would not be in the first person, as empathy is a private emotion.  Two points bear emphasis in advance, however:

* You're welcome to use a scene in a movie or book rather than something more personal; in fact, it might be better in some ways.

* Let's avoid stories whose kernel is the assessment of empathy in others, e.g. "no one knows how I feel", or "how could he be so insensitive?"

Right after this round, we'll launch into the philosophy of empathic understanding.  So bring a question with you, or think of one during the introductions, for which you would like to hear answers from the group.  We'll talk about the questions for a bit.  Any question that gets a predetermined number of thumbs up from the group will be get the round-robin treatment (of course you can exempt yourself from any question).  Then we pick a second question, and so on.

Lather (discuss). Rinse (answer). Repeat (move forward).

I'll bring blank index cards to write questions on.  We'll likely be thinking of new questions in response to what we've heard (or heard ourselves say).  Everyone will have an opportunity to put in their two cents before we move on to something else. 

And at the end we'll be clean:-)

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