Chapter 2 - What Does Sympathy or Empathy Have to Do with Ethics?

Summary

Examining sympathy or empathy as a part of ethics may seem odd, especially if one is accustomed to thinking that ethics is a purely intuitive, rational, procedural, or codified matter. The answer to the question of what sympathy or empathy have to do with ethics can, however, take a number of both beneficial and detrimental directions. Even so, Dewey’s conclusion is that sympathy is such a crucial aspect of ethical inquiry and action that ethical reflection and maturation would be greatly impoverished without it. He holds that sympathy is pertinent to everyone but especially to those who interact regularly with children and youth and with those who are fulfilling normative responsibilities. As we pursue his thought, some details of the ethical difficulties and opportunities at the Academy are used to demonstrate why sympathy can be helpful but deserves “protection from sentimentality” and other distorting influences (LW 7, 270). In addition, it is also obvious that more than sympathy is necessary: inquiry, facts, data, deliberation, and experimentation are important too. Consequently, in districts and schools, there may be grounds to argue that there should be ongoing projects to help synthesize research about empathy and related topics. Suffice it to say, now, there is much to learn by examining psychological as well as philosophical considerations that illuminate empathy and ethics education.