Window
Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 14.2.21
Empathy Deficit
The word ‘empathy’ first appeared, misspelled as enpathy, in a 1909 lecture by the
Cornell psychologist Edward B Titchener, and in a translation credited to the
Cambridge philosopher and psychologist James Ward the same year. Inspired by
the German aesthetic term Einfühlung,
meaning "feeling into", Titchener compared empathy to an enlivening
process whereby an art object evoked actual or incipient bodily movements and
accompanying emotions in the viewer. Empathy goes beyond sympathy, which is broadly defined as
understanding how someone else feels.
Empathy
enables us to actually experience those
feelings for ourselves. We feel the emotional pain of others as if it was our
own. There is a Sanskrit word which comes quite close to it: samabedana (sama means same, and bedana
means pain). There is another word in Sanskrit: sahanubhuti, which means- feeling the same togather (saha means togather, anubhuti means feeling). In English it
translates to sympathy.
Modern
scientific discoveries show that empathy is hard-wired and that we are
primed for morality, hence the writer Jeremy Rifkin's claim that these circuits
are the source of humanity's desire for "intimate participation and
companionship". This finds resonance with several Indian and other oriental
seers’ claim of the basic goodness of human being[i]
and also with Scottish Enlightenment philosopher Adam Smith's notion of a
"moral sentiment".
Empathy
is vital for the running of a civilized society. Empathy is important for
developing social relationships and being able to live with others. In fact
empathy has often been termed as social glue- that binds the members of a
society- even if they are not personally related or even know one another.
However,
many feel that there is a downward trend in empathy levels, especially in young
people. People are moving away from other people’s sorrows and sufferings-
without feeling any sense of guilt or remorse. They are not coming forward to
help or to ease the suffering the way it used to be seen, say a generation ago.
Why is
this happening? There aren’t any clear answers to this question. Some pundits ICT (Information Communication
Technology) may be
largely to blame. ICT may make communication easier and more frequent, however,
it promotes only superficial connections rather than the deeper connections you
can only get in person. Another reason could be the constant push to succeed.
To be rich, at any cost. To acquire material possession- at any cost. And to be
happy at any cost- as if happiness is a physical entity and one can buy it with
loads of money. This misguided and fallacious notion of success and happiness
is making us soulless morons.
Empathy is the bond
on which human civilization sustains and thrives. Without empathy the bond
slackens, and so does the growth and advancement of the civilization. Without
empathy, we stop growing and gradually regress. Presently we are in a peculiar
situation- call it an existential crisis. Our body and science are in twenty
first century- poised for even further development. But our mind is regressing
to the middle ages. A me-only existence will give rise to a hollow
civilization.
Therefore, we need
to practice empathy- at individual level, at family level, at community level
and at societal level. Nature has endowed with empathy. We need to let the
feeling flow and translate it into action.
Love 360 degree
Come Valentine Day,
and there is an overdose of love all around. In fact, it is not confined in a
day- it has extended to a week. Every day of the Valentine week- is some day or
the other connected to love and romance. It begins with Rose Day. Propose Day,
Chocolate Day, Teddy Day, Promise Day, Hug Day, Kiss Day follow. The week ends
with Valentine Day. In the last ten-fifteen years or so Valentine Day
celebration has increased across the country. Market has an interest in it- as
it can commodify and monetize the
festivity.
Every action has
its equal and opposite reaction. So did Valentine day celebration. Some
thin-skinned and uber-sensitive people, who thought themselves to be the
guardian of ‘Indian culture and morality’- whatever that means – opposed the
Valentine day celebration with equal zest and some element of arm-twisting and lathi wielding. A section of such
zealots wanted everybody to celebrate February 14 as Matri-Pitri Pujan (Parents
Worship) day.
If Valentine Day
celebrates romantic and passionate love, Matri-Pitri Pujan day celebrates
filial love and the bond that exists between sons and daughters with their
patents.
Thus- February 14
has emerged as a day celebrating different hues of love. Call it Love 360
degree.
Positive
Doctor : Your liver is enlarged
Patient : Does that mean it has space
for more whisky ?
(This is called "Positive
Thinking”)
Lady to her dietician: - What l am
worried about is my height and not my weight.
Doc: - How come???
Lady: - According to my weight, my
height should be 7.8 feet...
(Now this is called "Positive
Attitude”)
A Man wrote to the bank. "My cheque
was returned with remark 'Insufficient funds'. I want to know whether it refers
to mine or the Bank".
(This is self confidence in its peak)
This one is classic!!
A cockroach's last words to a man who
wanted to kill it : "Go ahead and kill me, you coward. You're just jealous
because I can scare your wife and you cannot..!!!!"
Always be positive even in difficult
situations
Maidspeak
I called my friend on his landline to
wish him on his wedding anniversary today...
Their housemaid picked up. Asked her
where the couple is ???
She said, “Woh bahar gayen hain. Unka
Marriage Unnecessary hai !"
(Courtesy: Social Media)
***
Anthology of this weekly column
published in 2020 has been published in book form. Should you want a free
e-copy of it, please write a mail to mrinalchatterjeeiimc@gmail.com.
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