Fishbowl Live Blogging
February 7, 2008
8:25-9:24 MST
Dan is the best selling author of Free Agent Nation and A Whole New Mind. His articles on work, business, and technology appear in many publications including The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Slate, Fast Company, and Wired, where he is a contributing editor. A popular speaker, he lectures to corporations, associations, and universities around the world on economic transformation and business strategy. Pink lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, and three children.
P.S. He doesn't like to be called Mr. Pink- it makes him feel old!
334 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 334 of 334Do any of you feel that there is enough empathy and sympathy in your world?
maddief- i dont think a person can have too much empathy, but i do think that a person can use and express it too much. People dont always want someone thelling them that they know how they feel, and that they have so much empathy. Its kind of like how some less fortunate people dont go to shelters or whatever becuase they realy dont want the help. Sometimes people dont want others to have empathy for them, they really just want to be upset.
Nilec, I think that empathy is a major role in family and friend relationships. Your family and more so your friends know the most about you, so they understand your problem. They have also experienced many things with you, so they know your situation and can therefore empathize with you.
meganu- in response to one of your comments awhile ago... it is true that men just hold it back. all of us men know that we've felt bad for someone or something sometime... it's just that girls cry about it and we make jokes about it and then punch each other (it may sound steroetypical, but it's almost true...)
Nile-
Empathy for me usually deepens my relationships with friends. If I know what they are going through or other stuff about their past, I feel like I know why their personality is the way that it is now. The past seems to shape the future in most cases and it helps if I have been through similar things, because it helps me understand who they are as a person and why.
Are there any situations where we should not be empathetic?
Melissaz - I don't at all believe computers will ever have empathy. We've all seen the movies where the robot/alien says; "Human emotions...are...complicated."
I don't think anything computerized will ever "feel" anywhere near the same level as any human.
Some of the things that are being said in the inner circle, I agree with. Teachers are roll models; especially in elementary school. Think about your kindergarten self, and how much you respected your teachers. He or she was strong, a good leader, and all the kids looked up to her/him. So if that same teacher told you that your picture looked stupid, then you would believe that teacher. You would end up growing up cold, and blunt. But if that same teacher inspires you, and says that your painting looks incredible, then you would try to pass on that good feeling to others. You would hopefully grow up with that empathy towards others. So in a way teachers can cultivate and nourish that empathy, so you can become a better, more empathetic person.
I think to be successful in school, you need to have somewhat of a relationship with your teacher. This causes you to have more respect for your teachers and makes students have more inclination to do better in school. As students,we are putting the trust of your education in a stranger's hands. But when we get to know our teacher and they care about us more than what grade we are getting in that class, we have a reason to listen.
Maddie, I think it's possible to empathize with someone you dislike. If you can temporarily put aside your strong feelings toward them, then empathy is possible. But if you let these feelings take over, they will take away from any possible empathy you could have for them.
One more thing: do you think that empathy can build friendships? Like if you meet a person that's empathetic toward you, will you be more likely to want to become friends with them?
Alyssa- I do believe that we can sometimes mistake empathy for other emotions. I doon't think they are fair assumptions but I do believe thatwe mistake sympathy, sadness, and weakness for empahty in certain situations. For example, if some guy feels real bad for someting that he saw on T.V. about starving children or something, some poeple might think that is not manly to feel sad or sorry for those people, which is wrong.
amyw- that is like anything in life. You can not change unless you have a desire to do so. If someone else tells you to do something that does not change what you do. You have to decide. That reminds me of the subjunctive in spanish class because it is a whole seperate tense for things you want for others that are out of your controll. My question is how does empathy play into your want for others to do things.
Kristinasmom- I know that if I do not have a passion for something, I will not do very well in it. I feel like it will be a waste fo my time, instead of other things that I love doing.
Markg- I agree that relationships are built somewhat on empathy. If there is no empathy in a relatoinship what is there holding the relationship together. What would you talk about at dinner?
nilec - empathy affects relationships with your family and friends because if you are completly unempathetic, then no one is going to want to come talk to you about their problems, and if they cant talk to you about their problems, then you wont really connect, and then you arent really friends.
Good question that John and I were just discussing:
When do we as humans need to step back and not care about others?
THAT WAS FREAKING AWESOME!!!! I drew it to the left... does that men I'm more empathetic?
Nilec-If someone is not empathetic, then they can't really see how their friend feels when they flunk a test. If their friend comes looking for them for empathy, the person is not going to be able to provide it. They probably aren't going to have many friends.
Thats so mean! I am left handed and dont mess up much. I may be messy but I dont like to mess up. :-)
yes lefties screw stuff up... haha just kidding.
Nilec-On the topic of relationships, I'd say that a relationship would be a better, stronger one if there was more empathy. I mean, if there are two friends and they don't care what happens to each other, then that relationship won't last very long.
Here's one of the definitions of friend is...
friend–noun
1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard
...and this is almost the exact definithion of empathy.
Daniel-
This section of the book is part of what I am doing my paper on. What exactly is the point of Empathy as one of the six senses? The inner and the outer circle are talking about Empathy in both the business and the learning enviorment. What were you truly trying to say?
Nile C-
Empathy makes people human....
If a relationship doesn't have empathy then the two or more people can never truely relate to the other people and that makes a relaionship virtually impossible because those people can never get close to eachother.
- Louise & Alex
Nickb---I think there isn't really a time to step back and not care about others. You have to care about yourself, but you have to care about others. This balance is true all of the time. If everyone cared about each other all of the time, then I think our world would be a much, much better place.
Daniel- I think that the "E" experiment was very interesting. I did not consider myself very empathic, but now I have realized that maybe I am more empathic than I thought. Now that I think about it, I usually base what I say on someone else's perspective. I didn't realize taking other people's perspectives into account was such an important part of empathy.
Nile- I think that empathy is absolutely neccessary in families and friendships. I think many friendships are built on the fact that you can relate to each other. People need to have at least a few people in their lives who can really understand them and relate to them, and I think families and friends often do this for people.
So, if I drew the E so that other people can see it, does that mean that I'm more empathetic? This doesn't make sense to me because I only scored a twenty-six on my empathy test. Does that make sense?
You are the only one that will be able to make your life what you want it to be. Remember that empathy, sympathy and anything else. You are the one that will have to decide. If you are depressed don't let others or your family affect you. You need to learn to be strong for yourself no matter what the situation is. This might be a bit out of content. :)
kristinas mom - I think it depends on where in the world your asking about because I think in some places theres enough and in some places theres too much and in some places theres just enough but overall i think theres a good balance of empathy
Kristinah - I actually heard that 2500 left hundred left-handed people die a year in accidents caused by using things made fore right handed people.
I'm not sure if that can be fixed with empathy, but still.
@NickB
We need to step back and not care about others when we are trying to run a business. For example, the CEO does what is best for the company and not for the individuals at the company. It is also for advancing one's career.
Do you think its possible to biuld a relationship of any kind without empathy? Is empathy essential in our dealings with others?
Javon- I agree, I think that is very true, so if someone had grown up all alone in the world and then was thrown in the middle of, say Arapahoe, would they have empathy? Is empathy a natural instinct?
nilec- Empathy affects relationships because, like katy said, friends and family depend on each other for support and advice. When you are unempathetic then it becomes harder to understand a persons problems and then to help them. I am empathetic in a way that I can understand peoples promlems but not their feelings. Sometimes that can hurt my relationships. I think you need a balance even within empathy.
LouiseAndAlex- That brings me to my next point. If you aren't empathetic in the work force than poeple wont be friendly with each other. And if your workers are friendly than than they will be more productive.
Well nickB, I honestly don't think that you should ever back down from anything especially if it is going to try and help someone out, unless it is something that is life threatening or something that you can't help with.
Matt- that's an interesting question, does it mean that you're more empathetic? Maybe if you drew it to the left, you wanted to make sure that people could see it which giving empathy for the reader.
Liap-
I'm the opposite I drew it the other way and scored a 57 on the empathy test. So this doesn't make sense to me either.
I think that leaders can sometimes get apathetic when they abuse power. It's like this thought process for overly powerful leaders; "hmmm..... I can do this and that without getting in trouble. I can also make this kind of choice. Most people can't. I'm better than them!" And THAT'S how we lose empathy as leaders!
Question:
I know this is going to sound bad, but money effects everything, so do goventments and schools and such need to find ways to help students(empathy) even if they don't have the money to do so? Or should they just focus on teaching the fundamentals thouroughly? I expect a certain response, so I'm curious to see who provides a diiferent answer!
I don't think there are any situations where empathy is not necessary. Empathy, to me, is not breaking down your own feelings so that you can take on the feelings of others, its trying to understand how a person might be feeling. It's connecting to how people look, act, and feel and reading their facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice to better understand them. Even in the worst of situations you wouldn't know what to do, say, if you were about to be mugged in the middle of New York City if you couldn't relate to the fear of people who had been through that experience and told their stories. I do not think it’s humanly possible to shut-off your empathy because its a strictly human attribute.
On what Mr. Pink is talking about, I think that if someone in charge has empathy, then their ability to relate to someone might influence their actiions. However, this is only if they allow sympathy to take over and let their emotions get the better of them.
Also, if the leaders are trying to do what's best for the company, then they need to empathetic towards their employees to gain their cooperation.
Empathy is something you need in a relationship. It will be very hard is you did not have it.
Ashleyf-
I agree. I think it is very important to have a relationship with your teacher. If you don't really get along with your teacher, then you are less likely to pay attention in class or care what that teacher is saying. When you do have a relationship with your teacher, you relate to them on a more personal level and feel more comfortable about talking to your teacher.
About the inner circle stuff, I think that it is much easier to be unempathetic if you are in a position of power. If you have to fire some people in order to advance the entire company and end up hiring more people, just a little father down the road, it would be much easier to do this without being empathetic.
@the inner circle - I agree that in a leadership role you can't have as much empathy. If your best friend is working for you but she is..stealing from the company or something then you can't just let her keep working there because you like her as a person or you empathize with her because she doesn't have much money or something...
AmandaH-
Interesting...
Everyone else-
Did this happen to anyone else?
Alyssa, to some extent, yes. We can build a relationship without empathy. We can tell our stories and not care about the other person. On the other hand, no. The relationship will not last long, will never strengthen and will cause you to be worse off than when you started.
Morgan,
That is a good point. I agree with you
To truely be able to master empathy I think that you need to be able to have good balance among all aspects of your life. You need to know how to be empathetic but not to much empathy to ruin the amount of work you proudce, to ruin your discipline, and take away from image in positive or negative ways. I think that you need to learn how to become empathetic, but still be able to balance all the other the other feelings and decision aorund empathy.
Well nickB, I honestly don't think that you should ever back down from anything especially if it is going to try and help someone out, unless it is something that is life threatening or something that you can't help with.
Zach- I think that certain people need to lose empathy in certain situations. For people in the army that they need to lose empathy of human life, and destroy the ememy and to keep himself alive because his goal is to defeat the enemy. (I give credit to MithcS for helping me on this!)
lia- all the tests won't give one defined answer: you can figure it out by yourself... and you probably aren't too empathestic becuase you like Newcastle United.....
ManU for life Lia!!!!!
I noticed a connection between story and empathy. In the story chapter, Mr. Pink talked about the wine story. The people who made this wine were essentially banking on the fact that people would be empathetic to them and their story. Same with the store H & M. They have a new collection (fashion against AIDS) where some of the purchase price goes toward helping people with AIDS. This also rests on the fact that people will be empathetic.
What do you guys think about the stuff that is being talked about in the inner circle? Why don't you want empathy as a business leader. My dad runs a company and when he is in his "business" mind then he is thinking only business and often lacks empathy towards others. If I try to talk to him while he is working it doens't work too well. He has empathy but he doesn't use it too much. Like Daniel Pink is saying, he needs to incorporate both, and he does a goodjob of that.
Ashley F- I agree that a relationship with your teacher is crucial to being successful in school. However, I also think that you have to have a really good relationship with your friends aswell. If you don't have a good ra=elationship with any of your friends then you will never get a second opinion on your thoughts and that makes it seem that your own opinion is the only opinion. In school you need to know that your opinion is never the only one and if you don't, you will never really understand anything.
Amanda-
Yes. I drew the E so that I could read it, yay for self centeredness.. But I got a 63 on the empathy quiz.
Markg- I think that without empathy in a work place will be very uncomfortable and cause workers to dislike their job. I would assume that when a job is uncomfortable a person wouldn't be as productive as they would be if they worked with people they could call friends.
Luke- I agree. If you are unempathetic on the job you will be able to fire someone if you needed to.
Markg- I think that without empathy in a work place will be very uncomfortable and cause workers to dislike their job. I would assume that when a job is uncomfortable a person wouldn't be as productive as they would be if they worked with people they could call friends.
Daniel
I've always thought of myself as being empathetic but I have had a lot of leadership expeirence. I think (as the inner circle said) leaders can't be empathetic when they have to look at the best interest of the entire company but at the same time, I think they need to be empathetic when making major decisions. i think leaders should ask "how would this make me feel if I were on the other side of this?" i think it goes with the idea of "A Whole New Mind" because leaders have to be systematic and empathetic in order to be sucessful.
Any leader needs to be able to look at a situation and do only what is best for the company. That's what their job is; to keep their business afloat. They must push aside empathetic emotion in order to make the most unbiased opinion they can. Empathy is important on a one to one basis, but not for the whole picture.
Lia and amandah - I drew mine the empathetic way and ended up with a 12 on the empathy test. So i did the opposite of what you did.
MacM- In the point of view of the government, I think they would want to teach just the basics because that is what they view as important for life. But the whole point of this book and this whole project is that we need to find a balance between the two.
amyw-
If you constantly think of everyone, how they are feeling, what are they thinking about; nothing would be acomplished. If always try account for all the minute details, what happens to the whole.
-John
Will our generation be more empathetic because we have more time to socialize, or will we be less empathetic because we spend so much time around technology?
Alyssas-Yes, I youu can have empathy-less relationships though they won't be personal relationships. For example, a CEO can't have a personal relationship with wll their employees, they need to have more buisness-oriented relationships with a lot of them. Also, if the CEO has a friendly relationship with a worker, then the worker might think he can get away with not doing some things and that lowers efficiency. So, yes, there can be relationships without empathy.
Amy- I noticed that connection also. Do you think that empathy is the largest aspect of story in order to make it appeal to the audience?
About the inner circle discussion, I think that empathy is needed in power, but to a certain extent. There is always going to someone who disagrees, or who it hurts in some way. If you are the leader, you must make the descision that will have the most positive impact. If they have too much empathy, you may never be able to make any descisions in your company, or position of power. I think that this is definitely a balance.
wow luke... do you happen to like Newcastle United too?
Do you think that common sense helps determine how much empathy is needed for a situation?
Maddie---This goes with everything, and empathy is no exception. The key in this time we live in is not to let technology take over. You have to find a balance between using technology and not letting it dominate your life.
Mark-
That is exactly what Alex is doing her paper on.
We think that empathy is a crucial aspect in not only the work force, but in every other aspect of life.
-Louise & Alex
I agree with Mr. Pink, as a leader, you need to have a good mix of empathy and the ability to be action-oriented. However, in some leadership positions, like a squad leader in the army, sometimes you need to throw empathy to the wind, give out your order and continue on towards your obejctive with no thoughts about how tired your men must be, or maybe you have to leave the wounded behind. You would have to abandon empathy to help your country.
I agree with Zachs comment.
Is Empathy being able to connect to something? For instance in a book when we connect to a book we are reading and we start to feel the emotions in a book is that Empathy or is that just enjoyinig the story and really getting in to it?
Is Empathy being able to connect to something? For instance in a book when we connect to a book we are reading and we start to feel the emotions in a book is that Empathy or is that just enjoyinig the story and really getting in to it?
Macm-Yes, they should try to help them. BUT, if helping a whole bunch of people who can't pay for, lets say, their education, would make the school go into bankruptcy, then they have to stop helping the few who can't pay and take care of the majority who can pay.
@ Inner Circle - I think that leaders and people in positions of power do not necessarily need less empathy in their jobs, they just need to show it less. I think everyone needs empathy, and everyone shows it in different ways too. Leaders need empathy, even tyrants need empathy, because if they didn't have it, they wouldn't be able to pull off taking absolute control over a country. Leaders just need to be more careful when and how they show their empathy, so it doesn't turn into sympathy.
alyssa---Yes, I think so. If a story appeals to your heart, you're more likely to respond to it.
Amyw-
I didn't notice that but that's a good point! I remember the other day I was reading the story on my starbucks. Below the little story was a quote. As soon as I read that quote, I empathized with it immediately.
aaron w-
I think that the fact that you like Manchester, being the biggest team in the English premier league shows that you have no empathy for the little guy, who needs the most support(Newcastle).
aaronw - keep the discussion off soccer. But i agree with you that all the tests you take wont really tell you how empathetic or not you are
mac-
That's a good question. I think about orphanages, and how they do everything to help the orphans, even if they are running low on cash. They try their hardest to help them, thus teaching them empathy because they care so much about them.
amyw- thats a very good point. the problem with this is that people are not always empathetic to the product. i think a great example is that depression commercial, where it has all these sad people and it is saying things like "depression hurts", "it hurts you, it hurts your family, and hurts everyone". this is all accompanied by really sad music. Personally i think that this commercail is way over-board, to the point that it becomes almost humorous. What those companies need to keep in mind is that everyone isnt super empathetic, and that they need to find a balance.
NileC- In the work place, however, you cant just be empathetic. You have to understand where the people are coming from but also how legitimate they are. And by legitimate I mean, how much life experiance and people skills they have.
Louiseb-Of course i agree that your teacher's relationaship isn't the only important one. But in education, both relationships are so crucial. Your teachers and friends may come from 2 totally different sides, and both people influence you. If you think about it, we spend more time being taught by our teachers than with our friends in a day, so both relationships are important.
I really like what Dawnielle is saying in the inner circle about Hitler, he was a great powerful leader, but when it comes down to empathy, did he have any? Did he show his people empathy? And if he had, would he have ever met his downfall?
So meganu, Is empathy really strongly tied with story in advertisement and in the business world?
I think those in positions of power do need to have empathy, but their main concern should be the good of the group or company.
Pink- I agree with the fact it all has to be in proportion. It has to be at the right time, with the right person (is this the one causeing trouble in the company), for the right issue, and in the right place.
Adding on to why leaders are or maybe less empathetic it is because they are focused on their success and on how far they have gotten, not focusing on what the other people have added on to their life. It is hard to mantain a high possition with every aspect. That leads to my next point that it is difficult to have and maintain a balance in everything. Having a whole new mind will be harder than it appears in my oppinion since we are not used to it.
Javon, I hadn't thought of that before. I guess I was comparing empathy to emotion, but sympathy is the emotion you feel after pretending to be in someone else's shoes.
chelseas- you asked this question at the beginning, but it is a great question. (How old do you have to be to have more empathy??) I think that as one grows in age that he also grows in maturity and gains more experience. I think that maturity and experience builds empathy.
maddief asks a great question. what do the rest of you think?
maddieh - I think our generation is a lot less empathetic. If you go on any site that contains a forum or place to chat you will probably notice a lot of arguments and people yelling at others for no apparant reason. I think because of the internet having that privacy factor in which we can pretend to be anyone we want then people are free to be jerks and it takes the empathy out of society. Also the fact that no one respects their elders anymore is completely destroying the empathetic side of life.
@ Tylerg!
Common sense can help determine how much empathy is needed for a situation. For example, you are not going to go all out in the "I'm so sorry for you that you got a C on a test", but common sense might tell you that you need to have a lot of ewmpathy for someone who just lost their pet.
maddief-
I think that our generation actually has less time to socialize and have a regular conversation. It is obvious. We are always doing something or on the way to do something or preparing to do something. Although, because empathy is natural, I do not know how our current life style will affect empathy.
Talking about Hitler---what would cause someone to have such a complete and total lack of empathy (and that's a gross understatement, I know) for a certain race?
Javon- I think that empathy is being able to make personal connections with others. In stories, I think that connecting to the story can be both feeling empathy and enjoying the story. I think that authors incorporate empathy into their stories to draw a certain type of audience that would relate to and feel empathy for the characters they create.
jordan i agree with you. maturity will make more empathy.
TylerG, to answer your question, I do think that common sense can determine the amount of empathy needed for any situation because if something happens to a person that wasn't very serious, then there isn't much empathy needed, but if you can tell that the situation is very serious, then you should know that a lot of empathy is needed.
Serena-
do you think that some people are empathetic to a point that there is a time when you need to think of your self?
For example, mom's. My mom is always taking care of my family and she never takes care of herself, she wasn't feeling well and she woulddn't go to the doctor. So is there a point at which you need to stop being empathetic and be a little self-centered?
So, the underlying theme of this discussion is that people resopnd better to more empathetic leaders. I read an article about Nickolai Karpof, the coach of the Russian Women's volleyball team for the past twenty years. They have won too many titles to count and are extremely successfull. Karpof's method for success is to yell at his players. I mean call a time out and SCREAM. So, why is this man with virtually NO empathy so effective in coaching this team? Is he just an exception to the rule or is there something else behind it?
I disagree with what the inner circle was saying about Hitler being a great leader because he had the right mix of empathy and action-oriented ideas. I don't believe Hitler had any empathy at all. If he had any empathy he would have put himself in the shoes of the Jews and realized that what he was doing was wrong. Hitler was very good at manipulating people. He killed off most resistance in the government and controlled the media so that the people believed in him. He used the fake empathy I have been talking about.
Off of the inner circle discussion about Hitler, I think anyone that didn't have foreknowledge about what he did could go along with him. In my history class, we watched a short film on a Hitler speech. It was amazing. I couldn't understand a word of what he said, but if I could and I was German, I would completely agree with him and empathize with his point. It was kind of scary, to think about how I could go with it if I didn't already know how evil he was.
Ashleyf-
I agree about both relationships being important. Not only do I learn things from my teachers but I also learn things from my friends. I like to hear their opinions and they show empathy for my problems. Teachers, show empathy by relating what we're learning to our personal lives
i agree with what steven says. A leader must show that they are strong. While Rooselvet was president, most of the population didn't even know he could walk. He had to show that he was strong. Talking about Hitler as a strong leader is very disturbing to me. He was a good leader with his words but he took his power and used it in the wrong way. That is the choice every leader must make. He didn't really feel empathetic, he could just write an amazing speech. But I am disturbed by how the inner circle is talking about him.
Do you guys think that Hitler just choose to be empathetic to the Germans and not to the Jews or did he genuinely feel with the Germans? Because personally, I think he just used that to get the Germans to think that he felt for them. So I guess I'm saying that you can use empathy to your advantage to make it seem that you relate and understand other people when in all actuality, you don't.
thanks for your comments.
Pheobe- that is a good point. I think that there is a balance of empathy. Some people have a high tolerance level of empathy, while others can only take only a small amount of empathy.
It depends on what kind of person you are.
Amanda-
I think that no matter how empathetic some one is they always will think of what is best for themself in the end.
Do you think that people were empathetic toward him or were they intimidated by his power? And afraid of his power? And this is why they went along with him. There were many Germans that led a fight against him.
Ashley F-
That is completly true.
It just makes me think even more about the details instead of the big picture.
In a school there are so many things that go into the big picture that it would probably take days to label them all.
amyw - I think to have such a total lack of empathy, Hitler would have to be born without it. I don't think any event can cause a person to have so little empathy to anyone else.
My question is:
How does empathy influence your friendships?
On a much smaller scale, how can what people are saying about Hitler relate to business leaders or teachers and principals?
Amanda-
Yes, at some point you need to put yourself before those around you. I almost never do though. My friends are extremely important to me because they have done so much for me, so I feel like I need to be there for them before I help myself. Whether that is a good or a bad thing is your opinion I suppose, it is just the way I am.
Here are some examples of different kinds of leaders.
Under-Empathic Leader: Stalin. He focused only on the glorification of the nation, no matter the cost. That's why the word "gulag" now has recognition. Here, too little empathy causes a dreary and sad world.
Over-Empathic Leader: Those presidents who bend to party politics. I don't know their names but I know what they are. They are the guys who care about getting nominated more than getting the country out of a problem. "Hmmm... what'll the guys in the party think of this? I better not do it." What if people are dying due to a health care crisis? Is the president going to actually do nothing? That's really not good.
The best balance of empathy: King Solomon. Remember that biblical story of the two women who said the baby was theirs, so he decided to pretend tocut it in half so that the real mom would cry out? He had to be empathic enough to get in the mom's position and realize what her pain would be, and then he had to be unempathic enough to play it cool.
From this, we can think that wisdom comes from empathy. And maybe it's true.
Mr. Hawthorn just asked us a good question;
Should leaders like football coaches and military leaders be empathetic and to what extent?
Nick, I think that our generation has become extremely unpersonal towards people that we do not know very well. We plug into our iPods and drown out the rest of the world, or we turn on the TV to witness some fictional character's experiences. However, because we have the time and freedom to spend time with others, we're allowed to relate to them, but only if we want to.
What would humans be like without empathy? Or even more so the world?
Jordan-
I agree. As one gets older we stop thinking "ME!" and start giving up things for other people. I think that's why we teenagers care so much about ourselves and have a harder time putting ourselves into other people's shoes than adults do.
Maddie I don't know if we really do have true empathy in that sense because I think that sometimes we pretend to be empathetic towards someone to make them feel better, It is terrible but it is the truth.
alyssa - I think that is very true that you can't have a relationship without any empathy, I can't imagine having a friend that doesn't have any empathy what so ever or having a teacher that doesn't have any feeling for their students.
javon - I think that wny kind of feeling you have when reading a book is empathy but it's interesting because you have empathy for something that isn't real but you still have empathy because you can relate to the characters. It's the same when your watching a movie.
AMyw - I wonder that too. I know we've said it could have to do with how he was raised, but Hitleer had Jewish ancestors, and it makes you wonder if his extreme prejudice was passed down or if he developed it himself.
this was a pretty good fishbowl...
thanks for blogging and talking with us Daniel. Or Mr. Pink. Or whatever you want to be called.
Amandah - I agree there is a time where you do need to think about yourself. Again this comes back to using a "whole mind." Too much empathy is not healthy and our logical left brain side allows us to realize that.
Jordan-
I agree with you. I think that kids are empathetic, and that they are all friends with the whole class. I think that a different type of empathy forms as we all mature. I think that experiences form this new empathy.
amanda i agree with you. Empathy is all well and good but there is a time and place for empathy, and if you have too much empathy than you cant think about your self, and it could get to the point where you neglect your personal well being.
@ Daniel & Maddief
Its hard to say if we will me more or less empathetic. I mean on the one had, our generation spends alot of time with people our own age. That may make us more empathetic, but it really isnt anything new or specific to our generation. Our parents and grandparents also spent time with their peers. On the other hand, we do have access to technology and we spend a lot of time using it.
Thanks alot Mr. Pink!
You had some great things to say!
Thank you very much for blogging and talking with us today Mr. Pink.
Lukez-
Definitly! I think the whole point of putting stories on your products is so the buyers are more empathetic toward the product and connect with it better. That way, more products are sold.
Thank you Mr. Pink.
So now that it is Monday, and I am finally looking back over the blog, the thing that Mitchs said way back at the beginning about animals and computers totally got to me! What he said about being left brained separates us from animals and being right brained seperates us from computers, was an amazing comment, and so far as I know nobody commented on it! Being an animal person, I 100% agree with you because when you live with animals you start to see how they can almost feel what you are feeling. I know that dogs are more prone to showing this, but my cat, one day, came up to me when I was crying, rubbed against my arm, and sat down and started to purr comforting me, and making me feel as if my cat knew exactly how I was feeling. I wonder if anyone else is going to comment on what I've said...
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