Is there really no room for empathy in the climate movement? I was shocked when I learned that there are experts arguing against empathy. Arguments against empathy point out that empathy is biased in favor of people who look like us and share similar experiences to us, can be narrow-minded, is not abstract, can be perceived as condescending, is emotionally exhausting, and causes burn out. I always thought that having and growing empathy was essential to living a moral life. When I\u2019m upset with someone\u2019s behavior, I try to put myself in their shoes. Most of the time, the person will try to stop me from removing their shoes from their feet and putting them on mine, so, next, I try to imagine the thoughts and feelings that are invisible and unknown to me that may explain why they did or said what they did or said. I thought that empathy was important because if we can understand someone\u2019s pain we can connect with them, and connecting with people is a fundamental part of life. In favor of compassion, Ray argues that it allows boundaries, is renewable, builds resilience, and allows climate activists to hold on to their \u201crighteous anger.\u201d I think the points against empathy are valid, most of them are based on scientific research and I am not going to argue against that. I argue that although there are valid points against empathy\u2019s role in the climate movement, it cannot be removed from the climate discussion altogether. Empathy should play just as important of a role as compassion does in the climate movement. <\/p>\n
What is the difference between empathy and compassion? You may not know and are thinking, \u201ccompassion, empathy, potato, potahto.\u201d At one point, I was also thinking \u201cpotato potahto.\u201d I didn\u2019t think there was a huge difference between empathy and compassion. If I\u2019m being completely honest with you, I still have trouble distinguishing between the terms \u201cempathy\u201d and \u201ccompassion.\u201d Ray makes arguments against empathy and in favor of compassion, so it\u2019s important for us to understand the intricacies of each. Ray defines empathy as \u201cfeeling another person\u2019s feeling, as if you\u2019re experiencing the same thing.\u201d She continues, \u201cCompassion is the ability to care about another\u2019s suffering\u201d (109). I found myself still uncertain on what compassion was after reading this, so I looked for more information in Robert Solomon\u2019s book True To Our Feelings. Solomon says that \u201cin compassion one suffers with the other, but one need not actually feel his or her actual pain.\u201d He also points out that compassion \u201cinvolves distinctive action tendencies, namely, helping\u201d (66). To me, it seems like empathy and compassion start from the same place: understanding the emotions of another person. From the information I\u2019ve gathered, it seems like the big difference between the two is how vulnerable the person in contact with another person\u2019s emotions allows themselves to be. If the person goes the empathy route, they will be more vulnerable with their emotions and allow themselves to feel what the other person is feeling. If the person goes the compassion route, they will understand the emotion of the other person, feel with them (but not feel the same thing), and react to it, doing so at an arm’s length of really experiencing the emotion. Ray\u2019s arguments against empathy made me consider the question, is empathy as important as I thought it was, and is compassion possible without empathy? <\/p>\n
Ray\u2019s overall point in Chapter Five, titled \u201cBe Less Right and More in Relation,\u201d is that climate change is an issue that people of different groups must come together on. Not everyone has to agree on the semantics of climate change, but it is important for the climate movement that people on both sides of the political spectrum can communicate and work together. Most people use empathy to try to understand the other side\u2019s perspective on an issue. However, Ray brings up five main points against empathy: we empathize mainly with people we identify with or see, empathy may come at the expense of our own feelings, it can be interpreted as patronizing, it is not necessary to empathize in order to understand and care, and empathy \u201cdissolves boundaries\u201d and causes empathy fatigue which leads to burnout. In my opinion, a lot of the points Ray makes against empathy make sense. Emotional empathy is feeling the emotions another person is feeling, and, if these are emotions of distress, the part of your brain connected to pain will light up. Those in professions who interact with people in pain and distress report feeling compassion fatigue, but Ray counters this by saying they are actually experiencing empathy fatigue. She points out that \u201cboundaries are essential to our self-preservation\u201d (109). I think this is one of the most convincing arguments against empathy. If we are constantly feeling the emotions of others, we would be exhausted beyond belief. It may be contested if empaths, people with an abnormally super ability to empathize with others, exist, but if they do I\u2019m sure they\u2019d be very tired. Sharing people\u2019s negative emotions will lead to burnout. Ray offers that \u201can orientation of curious compassion alleviates suffering, and it also may lead us to find more effective political strategies to change others\u2019 hearts and minds\u201d (110). <\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think Ray is wrong, but I don\u2019t know if she\u2019s entirely right. It seems to me that in order to really understand what someone is feeling, we must empathize with them. In order for us to feel compassion for another\u2019s emotions we need to somewhat understand them, so isn\u2019t empathy involved in compassion? I agree wholeheartedly that overcoming party divides is necessary for the success of the climate movement. In the context of maintaining the emotional energy to participate in climate activism, I understand steering away from empathy for the sake of self-preservation. The reason I think empathy needs to be relevant in the climate movement is that I think it is the driving force behind why most of us began to care about the climate crisis in the first place. This may be out of pocket, but I think that because most humans can understand the fear of death, loss, suffering, and pain, we are all capable of caring about climate change. Ultimately, I think empathy drives connection and connection fosters love. I think it\u2019s possible to cultivate people\u2019s empathy for the Earth, and, by doing so, bring more people to fight for its survival and thriving. We should feel empathy for the Earth and its suffering, because how else will we feel empowered to fight for it? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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