X-Message-Number: 17073 Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 18:01:03 -0700 From: Kennita Watson <> Subject: Selfishness; sympathy vs. empathy Lee Corbin wrote: > Suppose that we believe that it is not ethical to cheat someone (even if > they don't know that it happened to them and no one knows that we did it). > I agree that a big component of the anti-cheating meme in our ethical > system still arose from self-interest. But, in general, doesn't a small > component also arise from a genuine and direct feeling of compassion or > sympathy for the swindled? Actually, I think a large part arises from a feeling whose existence is still bound up in my self-interest: empathy. "I feel your pain" has been turned into a joke, but when I see someone hit their finger with a hammer, I flinch and say "ow!". Likewise, when faced with the choice of cheating someone, I let "How would I feel if I found out someone had done that to *me*?" factor heavily into my emotional equation. At least part of the reason I don't hurt other people is because it hurts them/me, and least part of the reason I help other people is because it makes them/me feel good. -- May you live long and prosper, Kennita -- Kennita Watson | Way Cool Internet Radio: http://www.live365.com | http://www.kennita.com | I eschew arthropods -- so don't bug me! Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=17073