Get curious
Interacting with the
World
module 5:
goals of this module
You will prepare mentally to step outside your comfort zone and adjust to new ways of being and interacting with others.
You will consider your own positionality and how your identit(ies) impact your ways of thinking and being in the world.
You will learn mindfulness techniques that allow you to stay present and be more perceptive to others and your surroundings.
You will begin reflecting on how issues playing out in other places relate to those happening at home and prepare to bring home your inspiration and ideas for addressing them.
You will establish habits that encourage deeper reflection and mental processing.
what will you do in this module?
empathy and cultural competency
Empathy is often confused with sympathy. Both have roots in the Greek word πάθος (pathos).
The definition of sympathy focuses on “sharing a feeling, or perhaps a clearer direction would be to “have a feeling for someone”. It is the “for” that really brings out the difference—with sympathetic reactions, we see someone’s plight, and, even if we don’t understand it, we feel for them. This is a great thing!
However, sympathy has its shortcomings—because it is an outward feeling directed to the “object” of another person, it maintains a level of distance and separation that has the potential to threaten humanization.
We can feel sympathy or pity for a starving child, but not actually have any understanding of what starvation can cause a child to do or how being hungry can cause a child to view the world very differently. It’s an extreme example, but it makes the point.
According to Aristotle, moral virtues involve the balance of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional factors. The morally virtuous person is one who exercises rational constraint in the indulgences of appetites and actions. Likewise, an empathetic person applies her knowledge of the plights of others to inform her emotional responses to these situations, and acts in line with such enlightened emotions.
In 1873, the German philosopher Robert Vischer coined a new word:
eingfulung
This term was used in the art world to show the theory that our appreciation of art, our ability to understand it, is dependent on our ability to project ourselves into the object.
This means that when we see something of our
ourselves in a painting, we appreciate it more
fully and completely.
In 1909, the American psychologist E.B. Tichener turned the spirit of eingfulung
into a new word:
empathy
Empathy was the idea that we actually become part of another’s experience, we understand and share the feelings of another person. Since being coined by Tichener in 1909, the use of empathy has grown rapidly.
It’s important to contextualize the development of these trains of thought in Western, white supremacist societies. Consider how Thomas Hobbes’ (1588-1689) social contract theory and John Locke’s (1632-1704) skepticism of moral responsibility coming from anything other than a fear of retribution influenced Western society. For both men, acting in accordance with empathy, instead of self-interest, was unimaginable.
Watch this video. As you watch, reflect on the society in which you were raised, and whether any assumptions about basic human nature made their way into your brain. How might we challenge theses assumptions that keep us from acting in accordance with empathy and a desire to contribute to the good of the whole?
What do you think? Are humans naturally empathetic? Are we becoming more empathetic as time goes on? Why?
Watch: The Empathetic Civilization
As you watch, answer the following questions:
- What happened in Parma, Italy? What was the significance?
- What is the function of mirror neurons?
- According to Rifkin, how is an empathic civilization different from a ‘utopia’?
- What happened after the earthquake in Haiti? What does Rifkin see this as an example of?
- According to Rifkin, why do we have to “rethink the human narrative”?
After finishing the video, write down:
- 3 things you learned about empathy
- 2 questions you still have
- 1 criticism of Rifkin’s work!
AND
How do you know this?
Are you an empathic person?
THINK
Do you think empathic people are happier?
How important is it for you to be empathic to others?
Quiz Time!
Interpersonal reactivity index
The Interpersonal Reactivity Index is a measure of dispositional empathy that examines four separate but related constructs.
reading facial expressions
The Greater Good Science Center at the University of Berkeley has created an online test of emotion recognition.
Your task:
Think carefully about the extent to which you have these habits in your daily life. Where can you improve?
Watch: Six Habits of Highly Empathetic People
practicing ways of being
Power Flowers
Follow these directions to draw and
complete a Power Flower.
Then, check out this guide for some reflective activities and discussion prompts.
People Watching
In order to activate a mental state of careful observation, reflection and introspection, we'll spend some time on our program doing the ancient human practice of people-watching. In a 2013 book on the topic of body perception, UCLA’s Kerri Johnson and Rutgers’ Maggie Shiffar note that the human body is one of the most critical types of stimuli that affect the way we perceive others. Tilburg University’s Beatrice de Gelder, in a chapter of this book, notes that we gain the most information about people, such as their emotional states, by watching their faces, but we also make judgments about them based on their bodily expressions of feeling.
To make the most out of your people-watching:
- Use clues in the way people visually present themselves, speak, and act to try and decipher information about their identity, or multiple identities.
- Notice how the way people carry themselves and interact with others indicate their level of confidence, self-esteem, and openness.
- Try and understand what peoples' emotional states might be by reading their body language, facial expression and seeming level of presence or distraction.
- Take note of people who exemplify "niceness" or courtesy to others
- Of course, be polite, don't stare, don't point and don't laugh at anyone! Make an effort to use this exercise to build your empathy for and sense of connection with other human beings.
What did you see?
One amazing thing about this activity is that it can really be done pretty much in any place. You just need people interacting with each other and a few minutes of your time and attention.
Take advantage of this and go out people watching! Invite a friend or go on your own to malls, supermarkets, town squares, parties, and even school!
You can write down what you find or comment it with a friend.
- What surprised you the most?
- Which is the big difference between younger and older people?
- Were you able to see new friendships or romantic bonds happen?
Start practicing before your program to get in the habit!
Close your eyes and feel.
Can you feel wind on your skin?
The quality of the air?
Are you hot, cold or just right?
Do you feel tension in your toes?
In your legs?
In your shoulders?
Are your clothes comfortable?
Write down three things you feel.
Close your eyes and listen.
What do you hear? What’s the most piercing sound? What’s in the background? What sounds can you identify?
Write down three things you can hear.
Five Senses Meditation
Look around you.
What colors do you see?
What’s moving? What’s still?
How many shades of green
are there?
What’s the most vibrant color?
What’s unusual?
What’s familiar?
Write down three things you see.
Close your eyes and breathe deeply
through your nose.
What’s the strongest smell? The faintest?
Are the smells pleasant, neutral or unpleasant?
What memories do they conjure?
Write down three things you can smell.
Close your eyes and focus on what you taste.
Are you tasting leftover snacks or candy? Can you taste the air? Are you thirsty? Is there water in your mouth from your last sip?
Write down three taste you can perceive.
bon voyage!
Take advantage of this time before your departure to begin practicing the ways of being that will allow you to be PRESENT, OBSERVANT and EMPATHETIC while you are in your destination.
