When Empathy Withers

Max Stephenson Jr

doi:10.21061/spectra.v3i2.309

Abstract

This brief essay uses several works of fiction and nonfiction to illustrate the profound character of evil that obtains when individuals lose their capacity to empathize with the circumstances and situation of others. W.H. Auden explored the contours of human evil throughout much of his career and argued that it inhered, even at its most vicious, in all of humankind. The persistent challenge for nations particularly and civilization more generally is to acknowledge that fact and to ensure that this omnipresent and often apparently “unspectacular” force is not unleashed. The paper provides several examples aimed at illustrating that observers should consider current trends in American policy and politics carefully as they signal a sharp decline in empathy for major groups within the polity, an inauspicious sign for United States democratic politics.

Highlights

The paper provides several examples aimed at illustrating that observers should consider current trends in American policy and politics carefully as they signal a sharp decline in empathy for major groups within the polity, an inauspicious sign for United States democratic politics
In 2005 the often wry and always masterful singer-songwriter John Prine released a song called “Some Humans Ain’t Human,”i in which he commented on individuals who seem ever to treat their fellow human beings in selfish and hurtful ways
A dearth of empathy, as Simon Baron-Cohen has argued, may be the cause of cruelty and evil, with greater levels of malice linked to diminishing levels of empathy.iv I have had occasion in recent months to reflect on this concern both generally and as it is currently revealed in our nation’s politics

Summary

Introduction

In 2005 the often wry and always masterful singer-songwriter John Prine released a song called “Some Humans Ain’t Human,”i in which he commented on individuals who seem ever to treat their fellow human beings in selfish and hurtful ways. Prine was addressing an age-old human conundrum: How to explain the selfabsorption and nearly complete lack of empathy that people can evince. H. Auden’s estate, entitled “The Secret Auden” in a recent volume of The New York Review of Books.ix Mendelson explored a central leitmotif in Auden’s thinking and work throughout virtually his entire professional life: how human evil should be regarded.

Results

Conclusion