Compassion and empathy

[MaxP]

What do you believe them to be?

And, for that matter, what do you believe the conscience do be?
Rather, why do humans regard things as "right" and "wrong" fairly consistently?

 

[Flibbertigibbet]

Oh, good question. My answer now is #1, but I'm having to think about what I would have said a couple of years ago.

Hmmm, I would have had to say "I don't know".

What still remains true in either my saved or unsaved state is that when it comes to compassion & empathy, some people have it and some people don't. And whether they are Christian or other is not a good indicator.

 

[Braunwyn]

I answered 'I don't know' but I can't say that I'm unable to rule out certain things. I don't believe it's rendered by god because I have greater compassion for life than 99% of religions and by relation, whatever deity.

I also don't think it's due to societal pressure because society generally does not hold to my level compassion for life. If anything, there is pressure to be less compassionate.

Chemicals in the brain? Maybe, but I'm not well read on the subject so I can't form an opinion at present.

 

[a.d.ivNonasNovembres]

Depends. We are quite complex creatures... it's not always the same thing.

 

[MaxP]

What still remains true in either my saved or unsaved state is that when it comes to compassion & empathy, some people have it and some people don't. And whether they are Christian or other is not a good indicator.

Very true. Religious people can be the worst kinds of not practicing what they preach. Jesus condemned it over an over again in the pharisee.

I don't believe it's rendered by god because I have greater compassion for life than 99% of religions and by relation, whatever deity.

Well, the answer would be that God imparts conscience and compassion in all beings, whether they accept Him or not, at creation; but human pride blots it(and, admittedly religious people can be the worst with pride, like the pharisee again).
It is, frankly, a sin many will have to face God for, including me. Religious people are far from perfect and we are all big sinners; don't let someone tell you otherwise. Even the saints who where not big sinners(compared to the rest of us) knew they were big sinners in God's eyes.

Unless you mean religions in general and not just people?
The CC has great reverence for all life and all people; it teaches poverty is a horrendous thing, and is one of the biggest organizations that fights poverty.

 

[Nathan45]

"Random chemicals reacting in the brain to cause a strange effect in humans."

the chemicals are not random at all, nor is it partularly strange. so cut that out and you're left with:

"chemicals reacting in the brain to cause an effect in humans."

This should be true regardless of whether you believe in God or not.

There are chemicals in the brain and they are related to emotions, that is objective fact.

There's no contradiction between poll options 1 and 2, the only question is how those brain chemicals got there, did God just design the brain that way or are humans evolved to have compassion?

I'd argue that compassion is an evolved trait, an important component of social evolution. Which isn't an option in the poll so i picked "Other".

 

[Nihilismus]

Empathy is, of course, the ability to "put oneself in another's shoes"; to be able to relate to someone else's situation and the subsequent emotions it instigates. The majority of humans are observed to have this which may very well explain any perceived moral "consistency" in our species.

Clearly, there are those who are more inclined to interpret the feeling than others, as well as those who seem to be completely without it at all (sociopaths and psychopaths, for example).

That it is due to chemical reactions in the brain is hardly shocking (all of our perceptions and other cognitive functions are the result of such), but they are hardly "random". Nothing is random.

 

[Maxwell511]

Mirror neurons

Mirror neurons are the source of compassion and empathy in us and, as should be noted, in other species especially primates.

People of a religious disposition of course can say the reason we have mirror neurons because God designed us that way, some could say natural selection. I'd go for natural selection.

 

[Braunwyn]

Well, the answer would be that God imparts conscience and compassion in all beings, whether they accept Him or not, at creation; but human pride blots it(and, admittedly religious people can be the worst with pride, like the pharisee again).
It is, frankly, a sin many will have to face God for, including me. Religious people are far from perfect and we are all big sinners; don't let someone tell you otherwise. Even the saints who where not big sinners(compared to the rest of us) knew they were big sinners in God's eyes.

Unless you mean religions in general and not just people?

Well, most religions don't hold to ahimsa. At least not in their texts. Although, as I've previously stated, some religious people do, just as some non-religious folk. I'm not pointing at anyone or thing, just acknowledging that I have yet to find a source for greater compassion.

The CC has great reverence for all life and all people; it teaches poverty is a horrendous thing, and is one of the biggest organizations that fights poverty.

I'm sorry, the CC? Remind me of what that is please.

 

[MaxP]

There's no contradiction between poll options 1 and 2, the only question is how those brain chemicals got there, did God just design the brain that way or are humans evolved to have compassion?

I didn't say there was a contradiction; but at the same time, emotions like compassion are not only just an emotion, but an act of the will. We can willfully ignore compassion or deform our perception of it with excuses.

I'd argue that compassion is an evolved trait, an important component of social evolution. Which isn't an option in the poll so i picked "Other".

So how did we evolve it? When?
Namely, why do we have feelings and a monkey doesn't? What happened?
Why was it a necessary component in our evolution fro us to have emotions, like compassion?

I'm a curious guy.

 

[Braunwyn]

Empathy is, of course, the ability to "put oneself in another's shoes"; to be able to relate to someone else's situation and the subsequent emotions it instigates. The majority of humans are observed to have this which may very well explain any perceived moral "consistency" in our species.

Clearly, there are those who are more inclined to interpret the feeling than others, as well as those who seem to be completely without it at all (sociopaths and psychopaths, for example).

That it is due to chemical reactions in the brain is hardly shocking (all of our perceptions and other cognitive functions are the result of such), but they are hardly "random". Nothing is random.

Agreed.

Mirror neurons

Mirror neurons are the source of compassion and empathy in us and, as should be noted, in other species especially primates.

People of a religious disposition of course can say the reason we have mirror neurons because God designed us that way, some could say natural selection. I'd go for natural selection.

Ah, thanks for the link.

 

[OphidiaPhile]

I said other.


Can we train ourselves to be compassionate? A new study suggests the answer is yes. Cultivating compassion and kindness through meditation affects brain regions that can make a person more empathetic to other peoples' mental states, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Published March 25 in the Public Library of Science One, the study was the first to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to indicate that positive emotions such as loving-kindness and compassion can be learned in the same way as playing a musical instrument or being proficient in a sport. The scans revealed that brain circuits used to detect emotions and feelings were dramatically changed in subjects who had extensive experience practicing compassion meditation.









http://www.news.wisc.edu/14944

 

[MaxP]

Well, most religions don't hold to ahimsa. At least not in their texts. Although, as I've previously stated, some religious people do, just as some non-religious folk. I'm not pointing at anyone or thing, just acknowledging that I have yet to find a source for greater compassion.

Sounds good. I dunno, to me, God seems to fit.
Although it would fit to me.

I'm sorry, the CC? Remind me of what that is please.

Sorry, Catholic Church.

 

[Braunwyn]

So how did we evolve it? When?
Namely, why do we have feelings and a monkey doesn't? What happened?
Why was it a necessary component in our evolution fro us to have emotions, like compassion?

I'm a curious guy.

I was watching discovery channel or maybe animal planet, and there was this dog, a golden retriever IIRC, that was nursing baby cheetahs. This is fairly common (to my surprise). I'm not saying this is compassion but it's pretty interesting and certainly brings into question what non-human animals are and aren't capable of.

 

[MaxP]

Can we train ourselves to be compassionate? A new study suggests the answer is yes. Cultivating compassion and kindness through meditation affects brain regions that can make a person more empathetic to other peoples' mental states, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

But why compassion in the first place? We can enhance it or deny it, but why do we even have it?

 

[Nihilismus]

Many other animals show signs of having empathy. It is not exclusive to humans.

 

[Braunwyn]

Sounds good. I dunno, to me, God seems to fit.
Although it would fit to me.

Well, if there was a god, I wish s/he had a greater compassionate heart towards non-human animals. Alas, none of them seem to.

Sorry, Catholic Church.

Thanks.

 

[Maxwell511]

Namely, why do we have feelings and a monkey doesn't?

Monkeys do. There are experiments cruel as they are that show this.

We are not special because we can do things that other animals can't, we are special because we do some things that other animals can much better than them.

 

[OphidiaPhile]

I didn't say there was a contradiction; but at the same time, emotions like compassion are not only just an emotion, but an act of the will. We can willfully ignore compassion or deform our perception of it with excuses.

So how did we evolve it? When?
Namely, why do we have feelings and a monkey doesn't? What happened?
Why was it a necessary component in our evolution fro us to have emotions, like compassion?

I'm a curious guy.

I find it to be quite disturbing that you assume that only we as humans have feelings.

 

[MaxP]

I was watching discovery channel or maybe animal planet, and there was this dog, a golden retriever IIRC, that was nursing baby cheetahs. This is fairly common (to my surprise). I'm not saying this is compassion but it's pretty interesting and certainly brings into question what non-human animals are and aren't capable of.

Yeah, I hear stories like that a lot.
But I often wonder if the golden retriever cares?
Animals do show compassion, dolphins pushing sailors to shore, dogs pulling owners out of burning buildings, etc., but is it instinct or compassion?