Hey guys!
This video will summarize in a few minutes Jeremy Rifkin’s concept about the empathic civilization (about what I’ve been blogging last week). Just have a look at it!
What do you think? Should we rethink human nature, like Rifkin says? Or is all just naïve chitchat?
You know, I think that we are built to be empathic. Our brain is evidence of that. Nevertheless, when I talk about mirror neurons, or parts of our brain which are also to be found in monkey’s brains which enable us to feel empathy, or when I talk about moral and how the sense of morality disappears as soon as the frontal lobe of a human being is injured, people are fascinated but do not really “trust” me. You know what I mean? There are so many reasons to be a bit more empathic but people do not believe in it. They do not believe it, though right now many researchers distance themselves from the view of the only self-interested human beings. And it’s true, we aren’t that bad! I think it’s just a question of the idea of man we have.
In my opinion, the idea of man doesn’t only determine how we see ourselves and others but also how we deal with them. And that is why the idea of man has a huge influence on our understanding of human nature. According to Joachim Bauer, a German researcher and doctor of medicine, the idea of man lies in the experiences we make with others and maybe also with ourselves. In addition also the way others see us can influence our thinking of human beings. But also our emotions have an impact on us… For example you might be very disappointed about a person though you’ve had a different first impression. Maybe those emotions are even so strong that you change your view on human beings in general?
But what is even more interesting is what the idea of man we have, provokes. The way we see others determines whether we should trust them or not, what we expect from others, how we respond to others… If you believe devoutly that human beings are bad by nature, this will also have a huge influence on how you deal with them. Mistrust and other negative assumptions about a person might cause the person to eventually be like that. In contrast, if you trust other people and show them this reliance, this could cause a trustfully behavior. Nevertheless we know that we cannot always rely on that. Not everybody who trusts others gets this trust back, right? But should every single negative experience we make influence our idea of man?
It’s complicated. But rethinking human nature, like Rifkin said, would definitely be advisable. Nevertheless I have to contradict him. While Rifkin only concentrates on empathy and how important it is for our further living together, I would like to point out that we are not only social and empathic. We aren’t only aggressive and self-interested either. WE ARE BOTH.
Competition vs. Cooperation
Egoism vs. Sense of community
Egocentrism vs. Empathy…
…we contain it all within ourselves. It’s just a question of how we bring those traits into the light of day.
