A radical experiment in empathy…
September 13th, 2012
Can you imagine what it would be like to someone else’s shoes? Can you understand why they’re there? What they feel?
Sam Richards: A radical experiment in empathy
Sociologist Sam Richards’ TEDxPSU sets an extraordinary challenge: can you understand — not approve of, but understand — the motivations of an Iraqi insurgent? And by extension, can anyone truly understand and empathize with another?
Tags: America, empathy, Iraq, Muslims, politics, Sam Richards, sympathise, understanding, USA
Fascinating stuff, explains the concept well. I studied John Rawls for my last politics course, I reckon you might be interested in his ‘Veil of Ignorance’ theory, which is a similar experiment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil_of_ignorance
[...] put yourself in their shoes. What do you think is going through their heads? How do you think they’re feeling? Why do you [...]