Posted: Nov 05, 2017 3:39 pm
surreptitious57 wrote:I said those who are truly sorry are more deserving of empathy.
I know you did, I read it the first time. Again, why do you perceive empathy as a gift to be bestowed upon another person, rather than a quality or skill which an individual possesses? Have you considered that just pretending that someone doesn't exist might be more detrimental to you than being able to understand their behaviour?
I find it easier to empathise with them simply because they accept responsibility for their actions so are less likely to repeat them. That is what I would do were I in the same situation
That you find it easier to empathise with some more than others is a different proposition than that you make the decision about with whom to empathise based upon their worthiness.
I find it more harder to empathise with those who do not accept responsibility for their actions. Although I could empathise
if I wanted to. So I would not automatically rule it out. I think it more emotional than logical as it is a conditioned response
And you find it more logical to simply ignore people? If empathy were utilised more often, we might find we had fewer conflicts and less distress overall.
Psychopaths do not feel remorse in the same way non psychopaths do so they re not in any moral sense responsible
for their actions. Their brain chemistry is fundamentally different so it is not some thing they have any control over
Consequently I can feel more sorry for them than I can for non psychopaths who may have committed similar crimes
Seriously? What do you think remorse is, if not the result of brain chemistry? Why do you think people feel no remorse about something? Because they choose not to? Secondly, you are saying that it is people without remorse who are not deserving of empathy, not criminals in general. Thirdly, you still show signs of confusing empathy with forgiveness, or perhaps sympathy. Empathy does not involve feeling sorry for people. An illustration:
Sympathy - aww, I feel really sorry for paedophiles. They get put in prison, beaten up and killed. That's so mean. They can't help finding children sexually attractive. Won't somebody think of the paedophiles!? It must be so awful for them, I just can't imagine what they go through. I wish I could do something to help them. I just feel like putting my arms around them and giving them a big hug. They can come and live with me, I'll look after them.
Empathy - if I were a paedophile, I think I might feel several things - scared to be myself, ashamed of my own feelings, depressed because the thing I need I can never have legally, angry that everyone else gets help but I can't, and extremely sorry for myself. I would probably find It difficulty to accept responsibility, because I didn't do anything to make myself this way, so cannot be blamed for it. It seems to me that this would be a life that I would find extremely hard to cope with, and I would probably consider killing myself. In any event, it is highly likely that I would feel extremely miserable for much of the time, and without hope of ever finding peace. Whatever the underlying reason for these emotions, it sounds to me to be incredibly shit and awful.
See the difference?