CAN WE HELP OUR STUDENTS TO DEVELOP EMPATHY? -- PART II

In our last post we proposed that the normal, healthy emotional and intellectual development of adolescents would lead them to develop "Basic Human Empathy." We defined Basic Human Empathy as "The intellectual and emotional ability to feel the joy and pain of others who are not personally close to us." We also raised the questions of whether we as teachers could help in the development of Basic Human Empathy and how we could do so.

We will now try to explore what factors intervene to thwart the normal development of Basic Human Empathy. Two such factors are: (1) cultural conditioning, and (2) individual, personal conditioning.

(1) By "cultural conditioning" we mean the sum total of the conditioned learning provided by the culture or sub-culture in which we live, injected unconsciously into our minds through associative learning. Some sub-cultures glorify individualism and denigrate (at least in practice) normal human concern for others. In the USA, for instance, there is a profound theological / philosophical under-current among some religious groups which minimizes the value of empathy as it glorifies an emphasis on individualism. This under-current is sometimes mistakenly referred to as "the Protestant ethic." This is an unwarranted term, as most major Protestant denominations do not subscribe to it. More accurate terms are "the Puritan ethic," or "the Calvinist ethic."

As dogmatic practitioners of strict Calvinism, the Puritan settlers in what would become the United States of America believed that their God had already predestined all human beings to either eternal heaven or hell, and that the human experience on earth correlated to this divine judgment. The "saved" would enjoy riches and benefits on earth; the "condemned" would not -- they would experience want and despair.

While this "Puritan ethic" is not always consciously embraced in American culture, it has undoubtedly had a major impact on the ethos of American culture due to the importance of the Puritans in the American story. It is an under-current that pervades many sectors of secular culture (such as the business world) and is predominant in some religious subcultures.

The practical effect of the conscious or unconscious spread of this Puritan ethic is the logical conclusion that (having accepted the predestination premise,) if God has condemned the unworthy person to hell for his/her iniquity, why should I care about his/her well-being on earth? Thus, the poor are condemned for their poverty, the weak for their own powerlessness, and the sick for their sickness. The Puritan ethic blesses our indifference and our lack of caring. It undermines the normal development of Basic Human Empathy.

We must stress that many or most Protestant denominations -- among them Lutherans, Methodists, Anglicans and many others -- do not subscribe to this theology or its consequent social doctrine of non-empathy. Neither does the Catholic church, whose social doctrine is among the most empathetic of all, even if most Catholics are blissfully unaware of their own church's social teaching.

Due to its historical importance as a foundation stone of American culture, the Puritan ethic has created a powerful under-current of insensitivity in American society -- even among members of religious groups that do not support the Puritan theological premise or conclusions.

Other nations and cultures have their own historical and philosophical barriers that interfere with the development of Basic Human Empathy. We each need to explore our cultural and historical contexts in order to identify what variables are at play.

(2) Individual, personal conditioning often builds on cultural conditioning. Continuing the USA example, wave upon wave of immigrants struggle in the "land of opportunity" to reach the "American dream." Those who reach the dream of material welfare, unaware (and uninterested) in the real difficulties faced by others, often assume that if others haven't found the same level of material success it must be due to their lack of trying, some moral failing, or some other internal weakness.

The adults in American society who hold such views may intentionally or unintentionally condition their children to believe that if others suffer, it must be due to their own avoidable failings, or lack of hard work. Didn't they, recent immigrants, reach success through hard work? Therefore, why waste time, energy and money worrying about the downtrodden?

We can now explain how, in the richest large country in the world, we accept homelessness, poverty, lack of access to health care or legal care, etc. and do not appear to be particularly motivated to take political steps to bring about greater social justice.

Often, adolescents reach our schools carrying the huge burden of non-empathetic cultural and personal conditioning. This conditioning has been unconscious and not requested. They usually have not stopped to reflect on their own mental schemas about empathy, economic success, and how pain and suffering can come to those who do not deserve it. That is the beginning of our work as teachers.

In our next post, we will explore some specific avenues to help our students breakaway from any residual cultural or personal conditioning and recover their potential for development of Basic Human Empathy.