Against compassion: in defence of a "hybrid" concept of empathy
In this article, I argue that the recent emphasis on compassion in healthcare practice lacks conceptual richness and clarity. In particular, I argue that it would be helpful to focus on a larger concept of empathy rather than compassion alone and that compassion should be thought of as a component o...
| Autore principale: | |
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| Tipo di documento: | Elettronico Articolo |
| Lingua: | Inglese |
| Verificare la disponibilità: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Pubblicazione: |
2017
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| In: |
Nursing philosophy
Anno: 2017, Volume: 18, Fascicolo: 3, Pagine: 1-6 |
| Altre parole chiave: | B
Phenomenology
B hybrid empathy B Compassion B Empathy B Vulnerability B expressive understanding |
| Accesso online: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Riepilogo: | In this article, I argue that the recent emphasis on compassion in healthcare practice lacks conceptual richness and clarity. In particular, I argue that it would be helpful to focus on a larger concept of empathy rather than compassion alone and that compassion should be thought of as a component of this larger concept of empathy. The first part of the article outlines a critique of the current discourse of compassion on three grounds. This discourse naturalizes, individualizes, and reifies compassion leading to a decontextualized and simplified understanding of failures in healthcare practice. The second part uses resources from phenomenology and contemporary moral philosophy to construct a "hybrid" concept of empathy that includes both pre-reflective/intuitive and cognitive/imaginative components. This "hybrid" concept of empathy leads to a more complex understanding of the multiple responses to others' distress. I conclude that there are no straightforward normative naturalistic responses to others' distress. Rather than conceptualizing compassion as a naturalistic impulse or a character-based trait, we need to consider the complexity of our empathic recognition of vulnerable others. |
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| ISSN: | 1466-769X |
| Comprende: | Enthalten in: Nursing philosophy
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/nup.12148 |
