A Sense of Doubt blog post #2846 - Death Series #005 - Compassion Means to Suffer with Another
"Compassion means to suffer with another" (Tisdale 57).
I have been saying that empathy then gives me compassion. By the definition above, is that really true?
LOW POWER MODE: I sometimes put the blog in what I call LOW POWER MODE. If you see this note, the blog is operating like a sleeping computer, maintaining static memory, but making no new computations. If I am in low power mode, it's because I do not have time to do much that's inventive, original, or even substantive on the blog. This means I am posting straight shares, limited content posts, reprints, often something qualifying for the THAT ONE THING category and other easy to make posts to keep me daily. That's the deal. Thanks for reading.
"Compassion means to suffer with another. To be at the bedside of a dying person means to suffer dying, in a way. But it also means witnessing while a person suffers their own suffering. We have the urge to act in loco parentis to the dying. We do this in big ways ("Of course you're going to have surgery!') and small ("Of course you want to eat lunch!'). We may ignore a person's wishes, or label their wishes deviant when we don't agree... We can smother a person's struggle with a cup of tea, and we can do it with opinions and ideals" (Tisdale 57-58).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2212.03 - 10:10
- Days ago = 2710 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
Given this definition they seem very similar.
Really, it seems that we in our English-speaking culture misuse these terms all the time.
Really, it seems that we in our English-speaking culture misuse these terms all the time.
empathy
ability to imagine oneself in the condition of another; a vicarious participation in another’s emotions: The widow expressed empathy for the woman who had just lost her husband. Not to be confused with: compassion – a deep sympathy for the sorrows of others, with an urge to alleviate their pain: The nurse showed great compassion for the injured children. sympathy – a general kinship with another’s feelings no matter of what kind: He sent a sympathy card to the widow.
"Deep sympathy is not the same as "suffer with another." To suffer with another is vicarious participation and that's empathy.
Tisdale is examining the roots here, the Latin conjugate roots: pati which is "to suffer."
In our usage, compassion means sympathy, and empathy means feeling what the other feels.
If I can have empathy for my students, then I will have sympathy for them: compassion.
People butcher empathy as empathetic rather than empathic. I am an original usage person in these regards. Empathic was the favored adjective and empathetic a version that developed through usage.
I saw a news report in which someone in government claimed that something was at someone's "digression" not "discretion." When will all these errors become accepted? That's a subject for another time.
THE DEATH SERIES - POST #005 OF 10
In a series of ten posts over 12-13 days, I am presenting a fact a day about death from the book I am reading titled Advice for Future Corpses by Sallie Tisdale. I hope the thought provoking facts that I share will enrich your life as much as they have enriched mine.
LOW POWER MODE: I sometimes put the blog in what I call LOW POWER MODE. If you see this note, the blog is operating like a sleeping computer, maintaining static memory, but making no new computations. If I am in low power mode, it's because I do not have time to do much that's inventive, original, or even substantive on the blog. This means I am posting straight shares, limited content posts, reprints, often something qualifying for the THAT ONE THING category and other easy to make posts to keep me daily. That's the deal. Thanks for reading.
"Compassion means to suffer with another. To be at the bedside of a dying person means to suffer dying, in a way. But it also means witnessing while a person suffers their own suffering. We have the urge to act in loco parentis to the dying. We do this in big ways ("Of course you're going to have surgery!') and small ("Of course you want to eat lunch!'). We may ignore a person's wishes, or label their wishes deviant when we don't agree... We can smother a person's struggle with a cup of tea, and we can do it with opinions and ideals" (Tisdale 57-58).
Work Cited
Tisdale, Sallie. Advice for Future Corpses (And Those Who Love Them): A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying. Gallery Books, Simon and Schuster, 2018.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2212.03 - 10:10
- Days ago = 2710 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
No comments:
Post a Comment