I agree that compassion is nothing if it depends on something or someone looking like us. Forgve me for being obtuse, but I didn't understand your second sentence. Does 'socialisation' mean being brought up to be empathic or does it mean being brought up to identify with others or their victimhood? I'll bet it's something really obvious that my early morning brain can't grasp...
My point, poorly expressed, was that who we most empathise with depends, to a strong degree, on who society tells us we should feel compassion for - be it class, race, nationality, species etc. Though I think the meaning you read in to the sentence: that we are taught to empathise; is also true.
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Date: 2009-04-06 08:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-06 09:37 am (UTC)