Empathy Guides One’s Moral Action Assistant Professor Jami Zaki once wrote, “...empathy does mean more than one thing: It includes sharing, thinking about, and caring for others’ inner lives” (Zaki, “Emotion and Reason” 4). Empathy has a relative meaning that is different for every individual. The connotation associated with empathy affects how one views the actions caused by empathizing. Morality is a relative term as well, which means that the information one takes into consideration before they determine morality also changes from person to person. If one performs an action willingly while empathizing with someone, then their action would have to be within their moral bounds and would therefore be moral. Depending on how one feels the effects,
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Previously, there was a quote from Jamil Zaki stating some of the ways empathy can present in people. Defining empathy as the dictionary definition and nothing more shuts out the endless interpretations and meanings of empathy that are incredibly important. Knowing how to properly help someone, defining empathy in one’s own terms, and one’s experiences, all lead to one performing moral actions while they empathize with others. Before one makes assumptions about empathy’s effects, one should evaluate how they experience empathy and how the empathy of others has been vital throughout their own lives, before going as far as to say that empathy is in any way a detrimental …show more content…
“Empathy Can Lead to Short-Sighted and Unfair Moral Bias.” The New York
Times, 29 Dec. 2016, www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/29/does-empathy-guide-or-hinder-moral-actio n. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
---. “There Is a Difference Between Empathy and Compassion.” The New York Times, 29 Dec.
2016,
www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/29/does-empathy-guide-or-hinder-moral-actio
n. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Molenberghs, Pascal. “Understanding others’ feelings: what is empathy and why do we need it?”
The Conversation, 8 Jan. 2017. https://theconversation.com/understanding-others-feelings-what-is-empathy-and-why-do- we-need-it-68494. Accessed 26 Jan. 2018.
Zaki, Jamil. “Emotion and Reason Are Inextricably Intertwined.” The New York Times, 29 Dec.
2016,
www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/29/does-empathy-guide-or-hinder-moral-actio
n. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
---. “Moral Wisdom Requires Empathy.” The New York Times, 29 Dec. 2016, www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/29/does-empathy-guide-or-hinder-moral-actio n. Accessed 11 Jan.
Previously, there was a quote from Jamil Zaki stating some of the ways empathy can present in people. Defining empathy as the dictionary definition and nothing more shuts out the endless interpretations and meanings of empathy that are incredibly important. Knowing how to properly help someone, defining empathy in one’s own terms, and one’s experiences, all lead to one performing moral actions while they empathize with others. Before one makes assumptions about empathy’s effects, one should evaluate how they experience empathy and how the empathy of others has been vital throughout their own lives, before going as far as to say that empathy is in any way a detrimental …show more content…
“Empathy Can Lead to Short-Sighted and Unfair Moral Bias.” The New York
Times, 29 Dec. 2016, www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/29/does-empathy-guide-or-hinder-moral-actio n. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
---. “There Is a Difference Between Empathy and Compassion.” The New York Times, 29 Dec.
2016,
www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/29/does-empathy-guide-or-hinder-moral-actio
n. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
Molenberghs, Pascal. “Understanding others’ feelings: what is empathy and why do we need it?”
The Conversation, 8 Jan. 2017. https://theconversation.com/understanding-others-feelings-what-is-empathy-and-why-do- we-need-it-68494. Accessed 26 Jan. 2018.
Zaki, Jamil. “Emotion and Reason Are Inextricably Intertwined.” The New York Times, 29 Dec.
2016,
www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/29/does-empathy-guide-or-hinder-moral-actio
n. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018.
---. “Moral Wisdom Requires Empathy.” The New York Times, 29 Dec. 2016, www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/29/does-empathy-guide-or-hinder-moral-actio n. Accessed 11 Jan.