Service to Humanity: The Virtues of Compassion and Charity

Abstract

This chapter argues that the virtues of compassion and charity play a major role in shaping the Hizmet movement’s understanding of service and philanthropy. Hospitality, compassion and charity form the triadic core of this movement. The virtue of compassion within the Western philosophical tradition is presented in dialogue with conceptions of compassion found in the religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. It is argued that the Hizmet movement’s robust understanding of hospitality grounds a wide and expansive understanding and practice of compassion and charity, as exemplified in the global service initiatives of Kimse Yok Mu.