Erstellt am: 26. 11. 2014 - 10:30 Uhr
Today's Webtip: Compassion
Although the term Social Darwinism is one that most people would shy away from these days, the results of it's core tenet that " the strong should see their wealth and power increase while the weak should see their wealth and power decrease" is a pretty useful way to understand U.S. politics. You can see it in the minimum wage discussion, or in the implied idea that the poor seem to have done something to deserve their situation. Because if they really wanted to change their lot in life they would educate themselves and get a better job...
Not just in the States, of course. The situations that expose it will be different depending on the country, and in Austria I get a similar vibe from the people who like to use Gutmensch as an insult.
Developments over the last couple of years (well, history actually) has made it difficult to maintain a belief in the possibility that humans may possess some kind of inherent good. But an older article I just ran across might offer a glimmer of hope, while providing some scientific foundations for members of The Church of Bill and Ted.
According to an article by Emma Seppala, scientific studies are increasingly showing that compassion might actually be a "natural and automatic response that has ensured our survival". Apparently even Darwin posited that "communities which included the greatest number of the most sympathetic members would flourish best".
To top it all off, compassion isn't just something we are born with that eventually gets destroyed through socialization, but can be encouraged and strengthened rather easily.
But you should really just read the article.