From 'Empathic Design' to 'Empathic Engineering': Toward a Genealogy of Empathy in Engineering Education

Abstract

In philosophy and psychology literature, empathy in general refers to 1) the ability to understand another person's ideas and feelings; and 2) the inclination to feel emotionally responsive to, and act to alleviate, another person's distressful experience. Until recently, however, discourses on "empathy" in engineering education are inspired primarily by "empathic design," a concept that originated from market research and first gained popularity in the business world. This paper argues that the discourse of "empathic design" inadvertently advances an instrumentalist interpretation of empathy, one that ignores the depth and breadth of philosophical and psychological insights into empathy. The adoption of this instrumentalist, product-oriented conception of empathy exacerbates some persistent problems confronting engineering education, including a tendency to objectify the users of engineering products.Seeking to reconstruct empathy on the ground of philosophy and psychology literature, in this paper I begin to develop a genealogy of empathy in engineering education. The paper does this by tracing the discursive history of empathy in engineering education and in its discipline-based sub-communities (e.g., design and entrepreneurship). This genealogical survey also examines recent scholars' efforts toward redefining empathy as an engineering competency, which lays the groundwork for envisioning "empathic engineering." Champions of empathic engineering, taking advantage of knowledge developed in psychology and social work, link empathy to engineering students' moral development and communication skills. Ultimately, empathic engineering aims at advancing objectives related to community needs, sustainability, and social justice. I assess the implications of the discursive migration from "empathic design" to "empathic engineering" for the identity formation of the engineering profession. Furthermore, I argue that the movement toward "empathic engineering" suggests the potential for overcoming a narrowly-defined, instrumentalist, and product-oriented conception of empathy. As an example, I suggest two alternative conceptions of empathy in engineering: 1) empathy as a commitment to communicating and understanding across different cultural and epistemic communities; and 2) empathy as a professional excellence for engineers.

Where We Are: Understanding Instructor Perceptions of Empathy in Engineering Education

“…As shown in the provided quotes, empathy skills were connected to interpersonal skills, classroom success, and the engineering design process. This aligns with identified benefits of empathetic skill development in the literature [2], [3], [6]- [9], [15]. A thematic analysis of these statements from all survey respondents would provide a more complete overview of the perceived professional benefit of empathy as a skill.…”

“…Empathy, put simply, is the ability to understand other's perspectives [1]- [3] and is a necessary soft skill for 21 st century engineers related to the ability to communicate and interact effectively with others. [4], [5].…”

“…• "(1) Our ability to understand another person's ideas and feelings; and (2) our inclination to feel emotionally responsive to, and act to alleviate, another person's distressful experience" [3].…”

Developing Ethical Engineers With Empathy

“…Empathy is often given less importance compared to cost, liability, and technical acumen both by practicing engineers and in engineering education [9]. Parallel to this, engineers acknowledge that with empathy comes improved emotional intelligence, increased creativity, deeper understanding of problems and stakeholders, increased sustainability of designs, better communication (both with other engineers and various stakeholders), stronger innovation, improved effectiveness of work, and ultimately more professional success [6], [8], [9], [11], [13].…”

“…In the 1940's, the United States Air Forces realized that designing cockpits and helmets for the 'average' user was one of the causes of a rise in aviation accidents: most pilots had body dimensions that deviated from the 'average' and experienced fit issues in these planes [7]. As designers of products for all of humanity, engineers must develop a deep understanding of the diversity of users, both physically and cognitively, and gain a true appreciation for the user's perspective which often differs from the engineer's perspective [8]- [11]. Using empathy to develop an understanding of stakeholder groups is a foundational skill for engineering students to learn -it has been linked to student's ability to consider stakeholder perspectives, integrate insights from various and often diverse stakeholders into design and decisionmaking processes, and, as demonstrated in the Air Force example, use this knowledge to improve design safety and user welfare [7], [10], [12].…”