Dear Friends,
It seems to me, to be able to judge, one has to be able to put oneself in the shoes of another. Without that basic empathy judgment is always selfish. When we watch an interaction between people, we see it from the perspective of one of the actors. The side we chose depends on our innate perspective. In other words, our subconscious chooses which side we identify with. That side, we will see as the victim, or the hero… the other, the villain or he has it coming. Empathy then is usually a thing we apply in a bigoted fashion. It follows, that only those who are able to put themselves in both sets of shoes, are those most able to judge. The next question becomes, is everyone able to, with practice, choose to perceive a situation from all sides? Given scientific progress… the future of humanity depends on it.
People innately fall on a scale of empathy. I don’t think that can be denied. Empathy however, like anything else, can be honed. That exercise requires commitment just as body building does. One can wish to have huge guns for arms, but if we only play video games and eat chips on the sofa, that will probably not happen. No matter how much we wish it. To get huge guns, or to grow our empathy, we must exercise those “muscles.” The way to start is small. Don’t try to be a Buddhist monk, who will not kill mosquito, all at once. Heck, why would anyone want to become that empathic anyway? Start by considering the point of view of someone, who’s perspective is irrelevant to us and our wants and desires, someone safe. Then expand the exercise to people who are less safe.
Our science has advanced to the point that, not only a rogue nation could exterminate the human race, but a rogue corporation or even a lone mad scientist could. Our recent brush with the laboratory created Covid 19, that killed millions across the planet, and we have yet to see the consequences of the species wide biological experiment, is just such an example. This makes our ability to empathize all the more important. Moreover, those with empathy are less likely to use others as lab rats. Sadly, the elite usually lack empathy but make up for it with gobs of pride, envy and wrath. History is pretty clear on that. The average Joe however, has usually been filled with empathy due to our religion, life experience and education. The administrative state’s monopoly public education system inculcates the opposite.
Judgment in our age and the one to come is more important than ever. Not just for the elite but for the average man and women. Take the abortion debate. Whether you agree that a baby should be allowed to live or that the mother’s right to autonomy is paramount, your position depends on who you empathize with. The baby or the mother. While that is obvious enough, a more subtle point is… can we take that empathy and make it objective, instead of subjective? In other words, can we switch our empathy from one to another and weigh them equally? In the abortion argument, do you see carrying a baby for nine months, an equal or greater wrong, to being chopped apart? Using the Golden Rule, I personally would tolerate most discomforts for a year, rather than have parts ripped off me.
Since empathy and judgment are so intertwined, it makes sense for us to teach our kids to empathize, before judging, but that good judgment is of paramount importance. Good judgment being only possible where the judge can empathize with both sides. To be able to step into another’s shoes, and equally weigh the imagined experience between the two, despite our innate point of view. People used to have more empathy and that counterbalanced the elite’s lack. Today however, with the rapid advancement of science, without a corresponding advance of philosophy, that lack puts the human race in mortal danger. This danger is compounded in the way we are educated to despise empathy, and embrace the elite’s qualities of envy, pride and wrath… and our constant existential crisis shows it.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
