Monday, October 21, 2013
Prompt for Oct 21
In class we are talking a lot about having a "theory of mind." A child's ability to take the perspectives of others, discern when folks don't know things, or even the concept of telling a lie, all depend on knowing that others have their own unique thoughts. But what about adults? How important is it to understand others' thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and perspectives? Are there benefits for having these skills? Are there risks for not having them? What do you think?
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In my opinion, being able to understand where other people are coming from is extremely important in all aspects of life. The benefits are endless in that you can form positive connections with others much easier, and hopefully live in peace. Having this skill is not easy and it requires a lot of practice and meaningfully directed thoughts and actions to become truly empathetic. I believe that if empathy was a value that we as a society put more emphasis on, our world would be a much better place. Obviously, some of the decisions made by authority figures in the world demonstrate that this skill is absent and not something that they deem important. The United States, and other wealthy extravagant nations, as a whole seems to lack this skill, and the repercussions of this are huge. Our intolerance of others and our inability to see other people's way of looking at the world throughout history has led to extreme violence and war, including unnecessary involvement in foreign affairs for personal interests. If we were able to expand our empathetic actions to more of a worldview, I think we would be a lot better off as a whole. The global risks for lack of empathy include hunger, war, environmental and cultural destruction and more. This skill, and lack thereof, is of major importance.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important for adults to recognize others perspective's. Even if for no other reason than to be self serving, you have to have some insight into what others think. I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinions and thoughts, and to be able to relate to others, you have to recognize their feelings on a subject. This does not mean that you have to concur, but the ability to "agree to disagree" is extremely important. Being open-minded towards others can teach you a lot about yourself as well. It's a bit like a circle, the better you understand yourself the better you can relate to others and the better you can relate to others can lead to a better understanding of your own motives and reasons behind certain beliefs. The risk involved in not having the ability to recognize others attitudes and ideas is a lack of growth of your own self. Becoming stagnant and missing opportunities for enlightenment disguised as some one else's thoughts, enriching yourself.
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