The Expanding Circle of Empathy
The Expanding Circle is an idea (and book) by ethical philosopher Peter Singer. It's an imaginary circle that includes all of the people (or creatures) that you care about. Singer posits that ancient peoples had very small circles; they only values the well-being of their family and tribal group. But modern people have much larger circles; many of us care about people in other countries, people of different ethnicities, cultures and religions and in some cases even animals.
Singer believes that this expansion of our circles is driven by the growth of our knowledge and the improvement of our thinking skills. Ancient peoples were biologically driven to care for their families and neighbors by their emotions and instincts; it was a matter of survival. But a modern person has no survival advantage in caring for people in other countries or the welfare of animals. Our circles grow to include these individuals when we reason logically that they deserve the same rights that we enjoy.
Do you believe in the circle of empathy and that it is expanding over time? Who deserves to be included in our circle - neighbors, foreigners, immigrants, refugees, criminals, animals? Is Singer correct that better logical reasoning leads to more caring and empathy?
Excerpt
The Expanding Circle is an idea (and book) by ethical philosopher Peter Singer. It's an imaginary circle that includes all of the people (or creatures) that you care about. Do you believe in the circle of empathy and that it is expanding over time? Who deserves to be included in our circle - neighbours, foreigners, immigrants, refugees, criminals, animals? Is Singer correct that better logical reasoning leads to more caring and empathy?
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