Empathy has become a very studied term within our modern area of the 21st century. The ideas of humans begin only monsters and that everything humans do as a individual and as a race is for our own good. This theory devlpoed in the time of the 20th century, but it has begun to change. Research is being produced more and more proving that humans are born with a very strong empathy for other living things. Jeremy Rifikin, on modern thinker of this new age empathy says this. "We are actually soft wired to actually experience an other's plight as if we are experiencing it ourselves."( Rifkin, The Empathic Civilization) We see empathy deep within DNA soft wiring appearing now more then ever with the age of modern technology, that is helping to spread empathy at a faster pace then ever. Empathy in this modern area is becoming one of humans strongest defense against each other. In speech done by the just another famous thinker of our time, Roman Krnaric, he says this about mass empathy and it power. "We normally think of empathy as something that happens between individuals, but I also believe that it can be a collective force..."( Krznaric, The Power of Outrospection) Empathy and mass media many people believe in modern days society of bringing back human relationships that where lost in the 20th century and through out history due to political and social disagreements. With the new science about what empathy really is and with the great thinkers of modern times, as a human race, we can begin to change our world of disconnection and hate into one of peace and connection. "I think that empathy is the way to revolutionize our own philosophy's of life, become more outrospective, to create the revolution of relationship that I think we so desperately need." ( Krznaric, The Power of Outrospection) Empathy is very much real and alive, and with the eyes to see it out society's can begin to change into one of mass understanding and help.
With the discovery of empathy though, all new problems have occurred within humans complex society's. With the help of mass media and technology, underlying problems within our education systems and the need to fulfil humans empathic needs, is shining through. Some of this reflection of change of attitude can bee seen through the system of which children are still taught. The way that children are educated to this day is still based of a factory line ideal and the minds of the industrial revolution which first introduced public school. Times have changed, due to not only the ideas of empathy and begin more in tune with the one and precious life that living things posses, but due to the most stimulating time the world has yet to see. Media has overtaken human lives and even though it is helping to spread the empathy is so important to our community, it also causing mass distraction in school. We need to change our methods of teaching and have more empathy for the children of the modern technology age. Due to the distractions created by the technology and media, standardized testing and standardized teaching have increased. Sir Ken Robison speaks on the issues with old fashion teaching with new technology and says this. "It about standardisation [modern day education]. I believe we need to go in the exact opposite direction." ( Robison, Changing Paradigms) We need to start to "waking up" children not "bring them down" if we want to succeed in modern era. We also see the underlying issues with the realization of how important empathy is to our society. Consuming has become the number one way giving back to fulfil humans empathetic needs. The example used by the famous philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, is when you go to Starbucks and buy a coffee, you are not just buying a company, you are helping to increase coffee growers pays around the world. This idea of consuming and giving back had changed empathy and has become the reason why it seems so easy to give back. Zizek does not agree with this method of empathic completion. "The real aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible, and the altruistic virtues have prevented the carrying out of this aim." ( Zizek, First Tragedy and Then Farce) Even though empathy has become more prevalent in the modern area and has helped to change the view of not only our individual selves , but ourselves as race, the idea of so much empathy has begun to have negative affects on our soctiety that also need to be seen. Zizel argues that you are not really helping any cause by being a consumer sympathizer, yes it is better then nothing, but you are only helping your own ego. Empathy can become a great solution to the worlds gap between people of culture but we also must make sure as a race that technology does makes empathy double back on its self.
Empathy has become a very studied term within our modern area of the 21st century. The ideas of humans begin only monsters and that everything humans do as a individual and as a race is for our own good. This theory devlpoed in the time of the 20th century, but it has begun to change. Research is being produced more and more proving that humans are born with a very strong empathy for other living things. Jeremy Rifikin, on modern thinker of this new age empathy says this. "We are actually soft wired to actually experience an other's plight as if we are experiencing it ourselves."( Rifkin, The Empathic Civilization) We see empathy deep within DNA soft wiring appearing now more then ever with the age of modern technology, that is helping to spread empathy at a faster pace then ever. Empathy in this modern area is becoming one of humans strongest defense against each other. In speech done by the just another famous thinker of our time, Roman Krnaric, he says this about mass empathy and it power. "We normally think of empathy as something that happens between individuals, but I also believe that it can be a collective force..."( Krznaric, The Power of Outrospection) Empathy and mass media many people believe in modern days society of bringing back human relationships that where lost in the 20th century and through out history due to political and social disagreements. With the new science about what empathy really is and with the great thinkers of modern times, as a human race, we can begin to change our world of disconnection and hate into one of peace and connection. "I think that empathy is the way to revolutionize our own philosophy's of life, become more outrospective, to create the revolution of relationship that I think we so desperately need." ( Krznaric, The Power of Outrospection) Empathy is very much real and alive, and with the eyes to see it out society's can begin to change into one of mass understanding and help.
With the discovery of empathy though, all new problems have occurred within humans complex society's. With the help of mass media and technology, underlying problems within our education systems and the need to fulfil humans empathic needs, is shining through. Some of this reflection of change of attitude can bee seen through the system of which children are still taught. The way that children are educated to this day is still based of a factory line ideal and the minds of the industrial revolution which first introduced public school. Times have changed, due to not only the ideas of empathy and begin more in tune with the one and precious life that living things posses, but due to the most stimulating time the world has yet to see. Media has overtaken human lives and even though it is helping to spread the empathy is so important to our community, it also causing mass distraction in school. We need to change our methods of teaching and have more empathy for the children of the modern technology age. Due to the distractions created by the technology and media, standardized testing and standardized teaching have increased. Sir Ken Robison speaks on the issues with old fashion teaching with new technology and says this. "It about standardisation [modern day education]. I believe we need to go in the exact opposite direction." ( Robison, Changing Paradigms) We need to start to "waking up" children not "bring them down" if we want to succeed in modern era. We also see the underlying issues with the realization of how important empathy is to our society. Consuming has become the number one way giving back to fulfil humans empathetic needs. The example used by the famous philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, is when you go to Starbucks and buy a coffee, you are not just buying a company, you are helping to increase coffee growers pays around the world. This idea of consuming and giving back had changed empathy and has become the reason why it seems so easy to give back. Zizek does not agree with this method of empathic completion. "The real aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible, and the altruistic virtues have prevented the carrying out of this aim." ( Zizek, First Tragedy and Then Farce) Even though empathy has become more prevalent in the modern area and has helped to change the view of not only our individual selves , but ourselves as race, the idea of so much empathy has begun to have negative affects on our soctiety that also need to be seen. Zizel argues that you are not really helping any cause by being a consumer sympathizer, yes it is better then nothing, but you are only helping your own ego. Empathy can become a great solution to the worlds gap between people of culture but we also must make sure as a race that technology does makes empathy double back on its self.
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