Compassion, Suffering and the Self

Abstract

Concerns for social justice have figured prominently in much current sociological and criminological discourse. Often implicated by these critiques is the enduring presence of harm, suffering and injustice in contemporary western society -particularly as these are reinforced and perpetuated by organizational and institutional policies and practices. Less often considered are the moralpsychological foundations that give rise to these problems and pathologies. Opposing the struggle for social justice, it could be argued, is a generalized impoverishment of moral sensibilities that would forefront the good of the other, thereby giving rise to relationships, communities and institutional policies and practices conducive to widespread human flourishing. This article suggests that meaningful social transformation in pursuit of social justice requires significant alterations of our collective value framework. More specifically, what seems needed is an overcoming of habitual cognitive and affective obstacles to the embodiment of compassion. Two such impediments to compassion are explored: appraisals of desert and responsibility; and perceptions of likeness and difference. The underlying concern throughout is to affirm the importance of the virtue of compassion as a crucial component of the struggle for social justice and human flourishing.keywords: compassion ✦ humanism ✦ peacemaking ✦ social justice ✦ virtue Recent years have witnessed the emergence and continued development of new perspectives within sociology and criminology that reserve a central role for social justice, community, human relationships and the values and virtues from which these might desirably proceed (e.g. Barak, 2003;Fuller, 1998;Pepinsky and Quinney, 1991;Sullivan and Tifft, 2001;Williams, 2002). The impetus behind these developments is recognition of the enduring presence of a variety of social problems, pathologies and injustices. The continued prevalence of poverty, homelessness, class-, race-and gender-based inequalities, environmental degradation and

Understanding compassion fatigue: understanding compassion

“…The concept of compassion is derived from the philosophical theories of virtue and justice (van der Cingel ). The philosophers Schopenhauer, Rousseau and Seneca each wrote that compassion is a fuel for social justice wherein the highest good is human well‐being (Williams ). Others agree that there is a moral component to compassion, that to be affected and moved to action by another's distress is a basis for living a moral life and creates a framework for social order (Armstrong , Doris ).…”

Merhamet Doyumu Ölçeği̇ni̇n Geli̇şti̇ri̇lmesi̇

“…Merhamet, insan yaşamının önemli bir özelliği olarak görülmekte ve bireysel, örgütsel ve toplumsal refahın önemli bir bileşeni olarak kabul edilmektedir. Araştırmalarda merhametin sosyalleşmenin gelişmesinde (Curtis, Horton ve Smith, 2012), prososyal davranışlar geliştirmede (Leiberg, Klimecki ve Singer, 2011), iyi-oluşun artırılmasında (Jazaieri ve diğerleri, 2014), stres ve kaygının azaltılmasında (Jazaieri ve diğerleri, 2018) ve sosyal adaletin gelişmesinde (Williams, 2008) etkili olduğu belirtilmektedir.…”

Social justice in counseling psychology practice: Actualizing the ethics of compassion

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