Once in a while there comes a thought provoking book, asking us to re-evaluate the perspective of our society and what is to be civilized. Frans de Waal's new book Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society falls under that genre. Having said that it is not ground breaking since science is trying to still catch up. I am saying this because there are still many human creatures who will read this book and without breaking a sweat would say "So..?".
But its an essential book (its not incongruous because duh!!) to carry the torch until the next "Origin of Species" shows up at the local book store or on the Kindle.
Pleasant surprise was de Waal's talks about one of my favorite book Philosopher and Wolf by Mark Rowland and his wolf Bernin!! (yeah, it's confirmation bias and I love it!!)
Every since capitalism thrived with competitive self-interest ideology, empathy is considered "sissy". Empathy is very essential part of who we are, trying to subside goes against everything that is human. At the same time empathizing blindly will lead to path of self destruction.
"What has always made the state a hell on earth has been precisely that man has tried to make it his heaven. - Friedrich Holderlin"
Debate to find the right balance be empathy and self-interest, has been going on for decades in vain. What both sides are missing to focus on is the most significant aspect which acts as a hurdle for the consensus is the "free-rider" issue. Free-riders are the quintessential thorn for most issues world face today. I don't want to write about it now since this book is about empathy and I will save it for later. We have to start looking life more than just as economics.
The best lines from the book which should have been self evident long time ago but for some it might be an epiphany and for others who still don't comprehend, there is always that great word waiting for them - "cognitive dissonance".
"Ultimately, I believe that reluctance to talk about animal emotions has less to do with science than religion. And not just any religion, but particularly religions that arose in isolation from animals that look like us. With monkeys and apes around every corner, no rain forest culture has ever produced a religion that places humans outside of nature. Similarly, in the East - surrounded by native primates in India, China, and Japan - religions don't draw a sharp line between humans and other animals. Reincarnation occurs in many shapes and forms: A man may become a fish and a fish may become God. Monkey god, such as Hanuman, are common. Only in Judeo-Christian religions place humans on a pedestal, making them the only species with a soul. It's not hard to see how desert nomads might have arrived at this view. Without animals to hold up a mirror to them, the notion that we're alone come naturally to them. They saw themselves as created in God's image and as the only intelligent life on earth. Even today, we're so convinced of this that we search for other such life by training powerful telescopes on distant galaxies.
When first live apes went on display, people couldn't believe their eyes. In 1835, a male chimpanzee arrived at London Zoo, clothed in sailor's suit. He was followed by a female orangutan, who was put in a dress. She called the apes "frightful, and painfully and disagreeably human." This was a widespread sentiment, and even nowadays I occasionally meet people who call apes "disgusting." When the same apes at the London Zoo were studied by the young Charles Darwin, he shared the queen's conclusion but without her revulsion. Darwin felt that anyone convinced of man's superiority ought to go take a look at these apes."
The blind spot of Judo-Christian religious foundations is obvious. The foundations of East culture were right because of their Geography (as Jared Diamond would put it), nevertheless I have seen youngsters deluded by quasi-westernization - "cool", despise the some of the essential moral radar crossing species boundaries without even realizing the implications. No wonder some of the fastest disappearing bio-diversity hot spots and endangered species are in India and China. It's ludicrous to state animals don't have soul (when we even don't know if we have one or there is something called soul exists) but I often see the significance of that statement. I have heard both westerners and easterners "advise" me sometimes about my bond with Max - "After all he is just a dog". I used to get ballistic losing my rationale when I hear those "advises" but these days I just smile.
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