What is your interpersonal philosophy?

Question

For what do you feel sympathy, compassion and pity?

Answer 1

Personal philosophy, "what should I do to achieve my own moral perfection?" This is called ethics. Interpersonal philosophy is the extension of ethics into the social realm and is called politics.

My politics? I am a trader... "A trader is a man who earns what he gets and does not give or take the undeserved. A trader does not ask to be paid for his failures, nor does he ask to be loved for his flaws. A trader does not squander his body as fodder or his soul as alms. Just as he does not give his work except in trade for material values, so he does not give the values of his spirit—his love, his friendship, his esteem—except in payment and in trade for human virtues, in payment for his own selfish pleasure, which he receives from men he can respect."

This is called Capitalism.

Answer 2

This is a central question of morals and ethics.

At their deepest, religious and philosophical systems challenge us to expand the reach of our compassion to all people, and indeed to all sentient beings.

Our evolutionary heritage has us rationing our compassion. Offspring first, then other family, then kin, then tribe, nation, race, species.

The task of philosophy (or religion) is to teach us to transcend the limitations of our hardwiring. It's a big ask.

Me? My compassion is arbitrary - people close to me, people who seek my help, animals I have a connection to. Sometimes I feel compassion and it stabs me unexpectedly. Sometimes I'm aware of feeling hard hearted when my conscience tells me it ought to be soft.

It's not a smooth or rational thing for me.... but I'm trying.

Answer 3

I can choose to sympathize with others, however, if I truly feel for their pain, then it would be a far better thing to teach them how to liberate themselves from their pain rather than for both of us to spend our lives crying to death.