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Permalink Reply by Angela Evangelia on March 10, 2013 at 7:05am

Simon I especially like the link for Dr Robert Brooks ,,,

I think that you will also like this ...

http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Attached-First-Relationships-Capacit...

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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on March 10, 2013 at 1:14am

How the hell is Jesus 'empathetic'?  He created hell just so he could burn people alive for eternity -> an infinite punishment for a finite offense.  Not to mention his racism - just ask the Canaanite woman who had to agree when he called her a dog just so she could get his blessing.

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Permalink Reply by Angela Evangelia on March 10, 2013 at 1:44am

yeah i know Heather ... but Jesus is being constantly re invented and re vamped for todays modern market ...

They even made him into a baby so that he could appeal to children... Its brilliant. Baby Jesus doesnt harm anyone...

Todays Jesus has Empathy, Jesus wants to save you from the pits of darkness ... not send you there because ... he went there for you - yadda yadda yadda ...

 

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Ed on March 10, 2013 at 10:34am

There is always room for more use of empathy in all our lives and it would be especially encouraging to see it applied more in our secular societies. I sometimes wonder if living in a capitalist economic environment we are somehow considered weak in character to care about the other guy. But it must be remembered that my lack of belief in supernatural beings has NO bearing on my ability to empathize with my fellow human. There are many who try to make a counterclaim.

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Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on March 10, 2013 at 10:51am

Ed - it's said that in the West, empathy has been culturally unfashionable in recent decades, and the current economic inequalities make the situation worse.  Nowadays though we are seeing the need for more of it in society at every level. 

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Permalink Reply by Angela Evangelia on March 10, 2013 at 4:34pm

How do we teach it?

 

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Permalink Reply by Angela Evangelia on March 10, 2013 at 5:37pm

Theres a post over there about someone who wont go to church with his sister who has cancer just because he is an atheist.

This is not an empathic response. 

This is self-centred -  not other-centred.

How do we get empathy to catch on?

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Strega on March 10, 2013 at 7:07pm

His mother has cancer.  His sister is just a pushy xtian.

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Permalink Reply by Angela Evangelia on March 10, 2013 at 7:13pm

Oh ... I must have misread it ...

Thanks for correcting that Strega...

but if it helps his mother then he should go.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Stutz on March 10, 2013 at 7:02pm

How do "we" teach anything?

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Permalink Reply by Angela Evangelia on March 10, 2013 at 7:43pm

Well I dont know how we can teach empathy when we dont have a model for it ...

 

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Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on March 10, 2013 at 8:28pm

Here's a programme in Canada which has had great success in teaching empathy in schools. 

Mary Gordon, http://www.rootsofempathy.org/

"At the heart of the program are a neighbourhood infant and parent who engage students in their classroom.  Over the school year, a trained Roots of Empathy Instructor guides the children as they observe the relationship between baby and parent, understanding the baby’s intentions and emotions. ...

• Teachers reported a significant decrease in aggressive behavior by students in Roots of Empathy programs, in contrast to an increase in such behavior by members of the control group over the same period.
• Children who completed Roots of Empathy were much more likely to report prosocial behavior in their classroom peers, recognizing acts of kindness such as sharing, helping and understanding.
• Roots of Empathy participants significantly improved in their ability to understand the baby’s emotions, independently generating possible causes for the baby’s crying."

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