Main Entry: empathy
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: understanding
Synonyms:
affinity, appreciation, being on samewavelength, being there for someone, communion, community of interests, compassion, comprehension, concord, cottoning to, good vibrations, hitting it off, insight, picking up on, pity, rapport, recognition, responsiveness, soul, sympathy, warmth
Antonyms:
apathy, misunderstanding, unfeelingness
Notes:
empathy denotes a deep emotional understanding of another's feelings or problems, while sympathy is more general and can apply to small annoyances or setbacks.
sympathy means the stimulation in a person of feelings that are similar in kind to those that affect another person; empathy means a mental or affective projection into the feelings or state of mind of another person.
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Main Entry: compassion
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: tender feeling
Synonyms:
benevolence, charity, clemency, commiseration, compunction, condolence, consideration, empathy, fellow feeling, grace, heart, humaneness, humanity, kindness, lenity, mercy, softheartedness, softness, sorrow, sympathy, tenderheartedness, tenderness, yearning
Antonyms:
cruelty, harshness, hatred, indifference, meanness, mercilessness, tyranny
One of the greatest and most costly (in terms of human suffering) errors in human cognition in the last two centuries has been, to my mind, the complete bastardisation of Charles Darwin's work on evolution and in particular, the meaning of the phrase 'natural selection' into 'survival of the fittest'. Here is Wikipedia's take on 'Social Darwinism':
Social Darwinism is a term used for various late nineteenth century ideologies which, while often contradictory, exploited ideas of survival of the fittest.[1] It especially refers to notions of struggle for existence being used to justify social policies which show no sympathy for those unable to support themselves. While the most prominent form of such views stressed competition between individuals in free market capitalism, it is also associated with ideas of struggle between national or racial groups.
The term first appeared in Europe in 1877,[5] and around this time it was used by sociologists opposed to the concept.[6] The term was popularized in the United States in 1944 by the American historian Richard Hofstadter who used it in the ideological war effort against fascism to denote a reactionary creed which promoted competitive strife, racism and nationalism. Before Hofstadter's work the use of the term in English academic journals was quite rare.[7] The term "social darwinism" has rarely been used by advocates of the supposed ideologies or ideas; instead it has almost always been used (pejoratively) by its opponents.[4][8]
The term draws upon the common use of the term Darwinism, which has been used to describe a range of evolutionary views, but in the late 19th century was applied more specifically to natural selection as first advanced by Charles Darwin to explain speciation in populations of organisms. The process includes competition between individuals for limited resources, popularly but inaccurately described by the phrase "survival of the fittest", a term coined by sociologist Herbert Spencer.
While the term has been applied to the claim that Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection can be used to understand the social endurance of a nation or country, social Darwinism commonly refers to ideas that predate Darwin's publication of On the Origin of Species. Others whose ideas are given the label include the 18th century clergyman Thomas Malthus, and Darwin's cousin Francis Galton who founded eugenics towards the end of the 19th century.What Social Darwinism did was to reduce human beings to simple animals concerned with meeting Maslow's basic needs. The savage kill of the lion was misinterpreted as evidence of nature indicating that the strong, and fitter, wins out in a 'dog eat dog world'. Human activity was understood to be guided by greed, selfishness, atavism and apathy. Human nature was to be understood as an extension and reflection of the misinterpreted 'wild'. The 'civilised' classes and nations saw in their modernity and industrial advancement proof of their superiority and, fitness. Each slaughter or harsh and unending suppression of an indigenous group was further evidence of this fitness and, to good measure, God's approval by virtue of supposedly showing preference that 'fitter' humans transform the world in the image it desired. In the twentieth century, Social Darwinism transmuted itself and slipped quietly behind the scenes to become the unspoken tenet of contemporary global economic and political order. Capitalism was the competition on the Serengeti played out between humans. It too was 'the natural order of things'. In the film Network, the eponymous hero is summoned to a meeting to be told by the CEO of the damage he is doing and to stop. The reason? He was upsetting the 'natural order of the universe'. His intervention that so appealed to the public had put the powers that be on the back foot, not a position they tolerate for long.
In international relations, the Realism school of ultimate betrayal kicked into high gear as the earth was ravaged by two global wars less than one generation apart. Since 1945, war and conflict has continued, some overt, most covert. War and conflict has and continues to feed the economies of many countries, especially my own. Realism is Social Darwinism for Diplomats. Realism is not an accurate all encompassing description human nature on the international stage - it is an excuse for the perpetuation of military-industrial complexes. It's core meme of 'might is right (entitlement)' is simply an extension of 'survival of the fittest'. Social Darwinism might be regarded as a dangerous concoction of ideas in most academic circles nowadays but it is the driving ideology of most of the world's business and political leaders. Religious and cultural differences are props that play their role in what is consistently understood between nations as a zero-sum fight for resources and economic growth. Destruction of infrastructure, the cowing of populations and the acquisition of resources are the aims of war. This is why the Neutron Bomb was made and then rejected. It only killed living things. A far more useful bomb would only destroy inorganic material. The atom bomb did both. Human beings, twisted by a complete misinterpretation of their basic nature, organised into ever larger and more effective highly armed groups saw themselves as 'destined' or in a battle to survive and prove fitness. The sham contemporary Olympic Games is the ultimate expression of National Social Darwinism in sport, despite it having a much different origin.
The world is gripped by the rule of those who share a view of human nature as atavistic and apathetic. Despite the everyday evidence of humans acting in an empathetic and altruistic manner, we are supposed to believe that most people are intrinsically 'evil'. We don't need science telling us that Chimps are social and empathetic creatures to know that humans have as much of a natural affinity toward altruism as they do towards atavism. In fact, I would argue that although both traits hold strong sway over human behaviour, altruism edges atavism on account of how well people generally behave towards each other in groups when they lack something to fear or environmental conditions make cooperation much more rewarding. In other words, atavism has to be perpetually generated to counteract human desire to interact peacefully, with trust rather than suspicion. It is as much human to love as it is to hate, though you wouldn't know that from watching the news. I'll finish this mini-essay with the lyrics from two songs by The Who and one by John Lennon. The first is a message from atavists to the 'less fit', the second is a lament from the underclass at how the game is rigged prompting many to give up, and the third is a message from an altruist and humanist. Which song do you find most motivational?.
The Punk and The Godfather (abbreviated)
You declared you would be three inches taller
You only became what we made you.
Thought you were chasing a destiny calling
You only earned what we gave you.
You fell and cried as our people were starving,
Now you know that we blame you.
You tried to walk on the trail we were carving,
Now you know that we framed you.
We tried to speak between lines of oration
You could only repeat what we told you.
Your axe belongs to a dying nation,
They don't know that we own you.
You're watching movies trying to find the feelers,
You only see what we show you.
We're the slaves of the phony leaders
Breathe the air we have blown you.
Helpless Dancer
When a man is running from his boss
Who holds a gun that fires "cost"
And people die from being old
Or left alone because they're cold
And bombs are dropped on fighting cats
And children's dreams are run with rats
If you complain you disappear
Just like the lesbians and queers
No one can love without the grace
Of some unseen and distant face
And you get beaten up by blacks
Who though they worked still got the sack
And when your soul tells you to hide
Your very right to die's denied
And in the battle on the streets
You fight computers and receipts
And when a man is trying to change
It only causes further pain
You realize that all along
Something in us going wrong...
You stop dancing.
Imagine
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries,
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You...you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You...you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will live as one
