Glad you liked it and great that you posted your post—it takes some courage here sometimes haha. It’s still something I keep thinking about—my main concern is how tractable it is though. I feel it’s incredibly hard to significantly change people’s character traits, including empathy. If I would spend more time on this I’d probably start there, interview a few psychology professors (like Tania Singer) on their view on if this is even possible, and if that’s a yes then start to brainstorm interventions. I don’t have much time the next few months but if you have a thesis or something coming up I think it could be a great topic.
That’s true, changing people’s character is an uphill battle, but it seems that the potential reward is massive enough that all possible interventions should be explored.
Fundamentally, we know that there exist people with varying levels of empathy. (Or at least people who act empathetically in varying degrees.) At the very least, we should figure out what the difference is, through a method like psychology or neuroscience. That would give us a much firmer footing to understand if empathy can be increased, and how.
For now, I still don’t have the mental bandwidth to pursue this in any kind of formal capacity. Still not at 100% mental energy after a long period of depression. I’m currently working on becoming an electrician, but I hope I can find a way to steer my career in this direction in the future.
Finding stability in your life should always be first priority and it sounds like you’re on a good path. Wishing you lots of empathy and compassion also for yourself on the way!
Glad you liked it and great that you posted your post—it takes some courage here sometimes haha. It’s still something I keep thinking about—my main concern is how tractable it is though. I feel it’s incredibly hard to significantly change people’s character traits, including empathy. If I would spend more time on this I’d probably start there, interview a few psychology professors (like Tania Singer) on their view on if this is even possible, and if that’s a yes then start to brainstorm interventions. I don’t have much time the next few months but if you have a thesis or something coming up I think it could be a great topic.
That’s true, changing people’s character is an uphill battle, but it seems that the potential reward is massive enough that all possible interventions should be explored.
Fundamentally, we know that there exist people with varying levels of empathy. (Or at least people who act empathetically in varying degrees.) At the very least, we should figure out what the difference is, through a method like psychology or neuroscience. That would give us a much firmer footing to understand if empathy can be increased, and how.
For now, I still don’t have the mental bandwidth to pursue this in any kind of formal capacity. Still not at 100% mental energy after a long period of depression. I’m currently working on becoming an electrician, but I hope I can find a way to steer my career in this direction in the future.
Finding stability in your life should always be first priority and it sounds like you’re on a good path. Wishing you lots of empathy and compassion also for yourself on the way!