Why Empathy Is a Crucial Advanced Emotion in Morality

YiXun Bian

Jennifer Ware

PHI-3035

3rd Assignment

Why Empathy is a Crucial Advanced Emotion in Morality

        Different psychologists, philosophers, dictionaries, provide different definition on Empathy. However, the most significant meaning within empathy is to put oneself into other people’s shoes. In my view, empathy is an advanced emotion for morality, and it plays a crucial role in improving our moral standards.

        First, empathy is an advanced emotional link that connects people with each other: it is not only connects people physically and materialistically, but it also connects with people mentally and spiritually. Unlike sympathy, compassion, pity that only make people to feel sorrow, hardship about others; but empathy is the one to make him/herself into others’ shoes as a result of spiritual or mental connection. As an example: If someone’s relative is injured from a car accident, most people would sympathize the injured person about his/her physical pain; but not majority of people would put themselves into the juried person’s shoes: trying to imagine or feel the both physical and mental pain he’s suffering. If the one who had similar experiences, he/she may share the similar thoughts and result in actual actions compare to those people who only express their sympathies orally. People who empathize the juried person may go visit often and take good care of him, instead of asking how can I help you they will do actual needed things from the injured person. In our morality, it is hard to take care of others; needless to say, it would be harder to take good care of others. However, with the empathetic views on others, the social moral standards would increase dramatically.

        Secondly, the reason why empathy is advanced is because empathy is a combination of characteristics from sympathy, compassion, comprehension, and other emotions. It is an advanced emotion, because it is not a singular emotion but as a developed and combined one from others. It is similar to we view other things: lets imagine, if a kid is very good at in English literatures, would anyone would question his fluency in alphabets? Probably not. Similarly, people who possess the ability of empathizing others is definitely capable of feeling compassion, sympathy, mercy or other feelings. So, when the feeling of empathizing others get stronger and stronger, people are willingly to do things differently. A social experience video shows a guy gave a homeless man one hundred dollars in order to see what the homeless person would do. The guy expected the homeless man use the money to buy alcohols, foods, cigarettes to make himself feel better on that day, but the actual result was the homeless person went to a grocery store, bought many food, snacks, water; then he went to a park where other homeless people were gathered, and shared all the food with them. At the end, the homeless person received few hundred dollars more from the same guy who felt touching, and appreciating his kindness, warmhearted behavior. In this case, it was completely fine if the homeless person didn’t share food with others, but he chose not to hide the money, and bought necessities shared with them. A famous navy slogan is leave no man behind, for those soldiers who live and die together definitely have more profound understanding than us. In both case, their actions are converted from their empathetic views on others who are in the similar situation. Either help out other homeless people or save soldiers in war zones are noble actions, and noble actions would significantly help the social moral standard.