The Argument for Empathy
Question: What is everything to someone, and nothing to everyone else?
Answer: A Mind
7 billion people have an estimated 50,000 thoughts per day. This equates to roughly 350 trillion human thoughts per day. That’s more thoughts than stars in the Milky Way Galaxy (300 billion).
These thoughts are so ubiquitous and pervasive in society yet we still cannot define what they really are. We don’t have an agreed upon understanding on the phenomenon of consciousness. The materialist camp says it is only a matter of time before they prove that brain operations give rise to consciousness. The religious will continue to insist that there exists an eternal soul. We, the thinkers, are unable to discern the true nature of our thoughts.
Whatever the case may be, we know we have them. Our thoughts define us, from the mundane to the extravagant. You build your internal narrative from an ever growing ladder of thoughts that form your identity. Your beliefs, dreams, and desires are viewed through the lens of this monologue running between your ears. We are so focused on our own narrative that we get lost in the maze of our consciousness without the key for escape. Considering this inescapable prison, it isn’t hard to see why we have so much conflict in the world.
Luckily, there is a solution to this problem. Social media and mobile technology are helping us communicate and understand each other in new and exciting ways. Technology will only help though if we maintain a mindful practice of empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and share in the feelings of another. We are able to feel empathy for family and friends but have difficulty in caring about the well-being of strangers. Although to you these strangers may be a meaningless blip, to themselves, they are everything. This logic can help us become more empathetic to the people we don’t know.
Brandon Stanton is the creator of the visual series Humans of New York. With his photography he has made expanding empathy his occupation. Each day he travels out into New York City and photographs and interviews the interesting people he encounters. He shares his photos and quotes from these individuals online, thus opening the doors to the lives of these people to a wide audience. Brandon captures each person in a frame of their life, bridging the mind of one person to another. Consider the example below:
Do you remember the saddest moment of your life?”
“When I realized that I hadn’t killed myself, and I was still alive.”
By only a picture and short blurb we become entranced by this anonymous person. Why did he try to kill himself? Is he happy now? These questions make us empathize with this man, someone who is an absolute stranger. We come to the terms with the fact that there is much more out there than what is in here. The world has people that are experiencing tragedy and joy of profound emotional intensity. Have you ever cried with tears that would flood a thousand cities? Someone is experiencing that right now.
There is a school of thought that says one consciousness pervades the entire universe. Each and every cog in the wheel of life is connected as a part of this omnipresent and universal consciousness. This consciousness may in fact be God. This is the spiritual argument against a life of solitary indifference to those around us. Our metaphysical connection to each other should encourage unconditional love and empathy in one another.
The scientific argument drives from the idea that the self is an illusion. Neuroscience has demonstrated that we are powerful at deception. I recommend reading Incognito by David Eagleman to learn more about the power of the unconscious “zombie systems” that control our lives. Think about who you are attracted to. You might consciously say why you find them attractive, but in reality you have no conscious say in the decision. As Eagleman says in his book, “We have almost no direct access to the mechanics of our attractions.” (p.92 of Incognito)
Think of the self as an abstract illusion created by the brain to allow for efficient interaction with the environment. The “we are our brain” philosophy goes so far as to put our free will into question. This biological connection leads me to the same conclusion: we need more love and empathy. After all, zombies need to stick together.
Whether you believe in the metaphysical or neurological, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day it is the knowledge that you are one of many that will enable you to live a life of fulfillment. Projecting your negative emotions to those around you is damaging to your happiness. We are all in this together and it is time we start acting like it.
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