The Dangers of Empathy - D4D Conference

the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 the dangers
of empathy · designing for digital 2023 1 TOWARD MORE RESPONSIBLE DESIGN the dangers of empathy Cassini Nazir Assistant Professor University of North Texas Designing for Digital Conference · March 6, 2023

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 2 Tonight’s session: an act in three parts INTRODUCTION 5 Understanding Empathy What is empathy? Why is it valuable to design? What is it good for? the dangers of empathy · designing for digital 2023 Exploring Empathy’s Limitations There are at least 16 limitations to our empathy. We will capture a few highlights What to Do? If empathy has limitations, are there other emotive capacities that designers can use? 1 2 3

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 3 the dangers of empathy · designing for digital 2023 The Space Between:   How Empathy Really Works Heidi Maibom The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Empathy Heidi Maibom, editor Empathy: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives Amy Coplan and Peter Goldie, eds. The Anthropology of Empathy: Experiencing the Lives of Others in Pacific Societies Doug Hollan and Jason Throop Empathy and Moral Development: Implications for Caring and Justice  Martin L. Hoffman Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and Th Principles of Screenwrit • Helps us take other’s perspectives • A way to show care and concern • Primarily human-to- human • Universal but also culturally different • Possibly a basis for human morals • Is the primary emo stories elicit Empathy… UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 4 the dangers of empathy · designing for digital 2023 Against Empath The Case for Rational Compa Paul Bloom tween:   Really The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Empathy Heidi Maibom, editor Empathy: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives Amy Coplan and Peter Goldie, eds. The Anthropology of Empathy: Experiencing the Lives of Others in Pacific Societies Doug Hollan and Jason Throop Empathy and Moral Development: Implications for Caring and Justice  Martin L. Hoffman Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and The Principles of Screenwriting  Robert McKee ake other’s es • A way to show care and concern • Primarily human-to- human • Universal but also culturally different • Possibly a basis for human morals • Is the primary emotion stories elicit • Is not a sing for good Empathy… UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 5 the dangers of empathy · designing for digital 2023 Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion Paul Bloom The Dark Sides of Empathy Fritz Breithaupt cations ce  Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and The Principles of Screenwriting  Robert McKee s for • Is the primary emotion stories elicit • Is not a singular force for good • Causes definite problems in society Empathy… UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 6 Every word has an interesting origin story. the dangers of empathy · designing for digital 2023 empathy Einfühlung state of emotion,   affected (by something) Edward Tichener ἐμπάθεια Ancient Greek prejudice, malevolence, malice, or hatred physical affection,   passion ἐμπαθής German, 1907 Modern Greek ἐμπάθεια English, 1909 Theodor Lipps feeling into feeling what another is feeling UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 Most fields don’t place emphasis on empathy. UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC 6 7

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 8 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY Gaining empathy for users is widely considered a central task in design. empathize define ideate prototype test Empathy is the “centerpiece of   a human-centered design process” — Stanford d.school + IDEO Empathy a value that distinguishes design from the established cultures of sciences and humanities — Nigel Cross (1982)

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 9 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY bit.ly/farai2020 The Impossibility and Irrelevance of Empathy · Sekai Farai · UXRC2020

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 10 vimeo.com/319654845 1 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 11 I approve of the spirit behind the introduction of empathy into design, but I believe the concept is impossible, and even if possible, wrong. UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 12 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY et al., 2014). In other words, empathy has become an end rather than a means, which is where the interest in empathy began. As such, empathy in design has opened itself to a type of quarantine failure (Goldman, 2013). This article advances the perspective that design scholars and designers tend to skip two important steps in the application of empathy to design. The first is an ethical step: the choice to apply methods to gain empathy with end-users is an ethical decision. The empathy a designer can or cannot gain for end-users and their situations will determine what solutions the designer will end up deeming valuable or not valuable on behalf of end-users (Lloyd, 2009). The presence or absence of the designer’s own values during the process of gaining empathy will determine trade-offs and therefore the social impact of the design (Le Dantec & Do, 2009). The second step is perspectival and relates to embodiment. In order to take the affective perspective of another, the designer must also take the bodily perspective of the other. The inclusion of embodiment in design means designers ‘should be aware of how they are being affected at a bodily level’ (Finlay, 2005, p. 277) and not just at a mental level. Our view is that there is much to be gained theoretically and practically from ac- counting for embodiment in the process of developing empathy. It would offer additional explanatory power in the suitability of empathy in design. The concept of embodiment rests on the hypothesis of the body and mind being closely related and influencing each other in various non-trivial ways (Glenberg, 2010; K€ orner & Strack, 2018). Embodiment in empathy 118 Design Studies Vol 65 No. C November 2019

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 13 1. “The tendency to vicariously experience other individuals’ emotional states ...an emotional response that is focused more on another person’s situation or emotion than on one’s one ... [which] can be either identical to or congruent with that of the other person involved.” Albiero et al. (2009, p. 393) 2. “The act of perceiving, understanding, experiencing, and responding to the emotional state and ideas of another person.” Barker (2008, p. 141) 3. “A cognitive and emotional understanding of another’s experience, resulting in an emotional response that is congruent with a view that others are worthy of compassion and respect and have intrinsic worth.” Barnett & Mann (2013, p. 230) 4. “The drive or ability to attribute mental states to another person/animal, and entails an appropriate affective response in the observer to the other person’s mental state.” Baron-Cohen & Wheelwright (2004, p. 168) 5. “An other oriented emotional response elicited by and congruent with the perceived welfare of someone else.” Batson et al. (2005, p. 486) 6. “The other-focused, congruent emotion produced by witnessing another person’s suffering involves such feelings as sympathy, compassion, softheartedness, and tenderness.” Batson, Fultz, & Schoenrade (1987, p. 20) 7. “A way to grasp the feelings and meanings of the client.” Clark (2010, p. 95) 8. “The ability to understand and share in another’s emotional state or context.’’ Cohen & Strayer (1996, p. 988) 9. “The capacity to understand and enter into another person’s feelings and emotions or to experience something from the other person’s point of view.” Colman (2009, p. 248) 10. “A complex imaginative process through which an observer simulates another person’s situated psychological states while maintaining clear self–other differentiation.” Coplan (2011, p. 40) 11. “A reaction to the observed experiences of another.” Davis (1983, p. 114) 12. “A set of constructs having to do with the responses of one individual to the experiences of another. These constructs specifically include the processes taking place within the observer and the affective and non-affective outcomes which result from those processes.” Davis (1996, p. 12) 13. “A sense of similarity between the feelings one experiences and those expressed by others.” Decety & Lamm (2006, p. 1146) 14. “The ability to experience and understand what others feel without confusion between oneself and others.” Decety & Lamm (2006, p. 1146) 15. “The ability to appreciate the emotions of others with a minimal distinction between self and other.” Decety & Michalska (2010, p. 886) 16. “The capacity to share and understand emotional states of others in reference to oneself.” Decety & Moriguchi (2007, p. 22) 17. “The imaginative transposing of oneself into the thinking, feeling and acting of another and so structuring the world as he does.” Dymond (1949, p. 127) 18. “An affective response that stems from the comprehension of another’s emotional state or condition, which is identical or very similar to the other’s emotion, or what would be expected to feel.” Eisenberg, Fabes, & Spinrad (2006, p. 647) 19. “A match between the affective responses of a perceiver and that of a stimulus person.... [definitions] must take into account both cognitive and affective factors.” Feshbach (1975, p. 26) 20. “The ability to perceive another person’s point-of-view, experience the emotions of another and behave compassionately.” Geer, Estupinan, & Manguno-Mire (2000, p. 101) 21. “A sort of ‘mimicking’ of one person’s affective state by that of another.” Goldman (1993, p. 351) 22. “An affective state, caused by sharing of the emotions or sensory states of another person.” Hein & Singer (2008, p. 154) 23. “An affective response more appropriate to another’s situation than one’s own.” Hoffman (2000, p. 4) 24. “The act of constructing for oneself another’s mental state.” Hogan (1969, p. 308) 25. “A complex form of psychological inference in which observation, memory, knowledge, and reasoning are combined to yield insights into the thoughts and feelings of others.” Ickes (1997, p. 2) 26. “The tendency to apprehend another person’s condition or state of mind.” Johnson, Cheek, & Smither (1983, p. 1299) 27. “Sharing another’s feelings by placing oneself psychologically in that person’s circumstance.” Lazarus (1994, p. 287) 28. “The capacities to resonate with another person’s emotions, understand his/her thoughts and feelings, separate our own thoughts and emotions from those of the observed and responding with the appropriate prosocial and helpful behaviour.” Oliveira-Silva & Gonçalves (2011, p. 201) 29. “The experience of sympathetic emotions and concern for another person in distress.” Pavey, Greitemeyer, & Sparks (2012, p. 681) 30. “The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.” Pease (1995, p. 202) 31. “The ability to anticipate and share others’ emotional states.” Pelligra (2011, p. 170) 32. “A shared emotional experience occurring when one person (the subject) comes to feel a similar emotion to another (the object) as a result of perceiving the other’s state.” Preston (2007, p. 428) 33. “Subject’s state results from the attended perception of the object’s state” Preston & de Waal (2002, p. 4) 34. “To perceive the internal frame of reference of another with accuracy and with the emotional components and meanings which pertain thereto as if one were the person, but without ever losing the ‘as if’ condition.” Rogers (1975, p. 2) 35. “An affective response to the directly perceived, imagined, or inferred feeling state of another being.” Singer & Lamm (2009, p. 82) 36. “A distinction between oneself and others and an awareness that one is vicariously feeling with someone but that this is not one’s own emotion.” Singer & Steinbeis (2009, p. 43) 37. “An ability to understand another person’s perspective plus a visceral or emotional reaction.” Smith (1759, cited by Marshall et al., 1995, p. 100) 38. “A category of emotional responses that are felt on behalf of others.” Stocks et al. (2011, p. 3) 39. “An observer reacting emotionally because he perceives that another is experiencing or about to experience an emotion.” Stotland et al. (1978, p. 12) 40. “A process of humanizing objects, of reading or feeling ourselves into them.” Titchener (1909, cited by Duan & Hill, 1996, p. 261) 41. “A basically passive process of information gathering.” Van der Weele (2011, p. 586) 42. “The attempt by one self-aware self to comprehend unjudgmentally the positive and negative experiences of another self.” Wispé (1986, p. 318) 43. “A basic, irreducible, form of intentionality that is directed towards the experiences of others.” Zahavi (2008, p. 517) the dangers of empathy · designing for digital 2023 5 Cuff et al. (2014). Empathy: A Review of the Concept.   https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073914558466 There is no set definition of empathy. UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 14 cognitive empathy THINKING ABOUT mentalizing understand others better communicate UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY Empathy has many different meanings.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 15 emotional empathy SHARING experience sharing personal distress builds connections cognitive empathy THINKING ABOUT mentalizing understand others better communicate UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY Empathy has many different meanings.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 16 emotional empathy SHARING experience sharing personal distress builds connections empathic concern CARING ABOUT empathic concern compassion helps us take action cognitive empathy THINKING ABOUT mentalizing understand others better communicate UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY Empathy has many different meanings.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 17 emotional empathy SHARING experience sharing personal distress builds connections empathic concern CARING ABOUT empathic concern compassion helps us take action cognitive empathy THINKING ABOUT mentalizing understand others better communicate motor empathy IMITATING mirror bodily position mimic language and tone gateway to other empathies UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY Empathy has many different meanings.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 18 emotional empathy SHARING experience sharing personal distress builds connections empathic concern CARING ABOUT empathic concern compassion helps us take action cognitive empathy THINKING ABOUT mentalizing understand others better communicate motor empathy IMITATING mirror bodily position mimic language and tone gateway to other empathies pity sympathy disinterest annoyance ignorance anger surprise disgust outrage happiness UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY dyspathy acceptance apathy recalcitrance bitterness Vulnerability Empathy has many different meanings.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 19 self others Empathy between self and others is asymptotic. intersects here UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 20 self others Empathy between self and others is asymptotic. never touches UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 21 self others Empathy between self and others is asymptotic. never touches UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 22 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 23 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 24 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY self others Empathy between self and others is asymptotic. B C A D

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 25 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY self others Empathy between self and others is asymptotic. perspective more informed by self than others B A

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 26 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY self others Empathy between self and others is asymptotic. perspective informed more by others than self C D

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 27 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY self others Empathy between self and others is asymptotic. perspective informed more by others than self C D perspective more informed by self than others B A

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 28 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY Configuration changes depending on who the other is. people similar to you people dissimilar to you self other self self other other Common mental models Shared expressions Similar modes of communication Different mental models Dissimilar expressions Fractured modes of communication self

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 29 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY self others True empathy takes time. B C A D hours days months years decades lifetime

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 30 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY self others Empathy is a skill that can grow. Not simply a trait you have or don’t. B C A D hours days months years decades lifetime

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 31 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY self others B C A D hours days months years decades lifetime Empathy is a skill that can grow. Not simply a trait you have or don’t.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 32 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY self others B C A D hours days months years decades lifetime deep relationship shallow relationship Empathy is a skill that can grow. Not simply a trait you have or don’t.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 33 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY self others B C A D hours days months years decades lifetime deep relationship shallow relationship Our empathic capacity can also shrink. relationship coda

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 34 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY self others Our empathic capacity can also shrink. B C A D hours days months years decades lifetime relationship coda shallow relationship

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 35 THIS IS WHAT I’M REALLY FEELING I’D RATHER YOU   NOT KNOW IT’S MY INNERMOST THOUGHTS UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY Being continually in tune with others can be exhausting.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 36 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY DON’T BE VULNERABLE YOU’LL JUST GET HURT

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW   I’M BETTER OFF ON MY OWN NO ONE APPRECIATES HOW HARD I WORK 37 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY DON’T BE VULNERABLE YOU’LL JUST GET HURT WHEN WILL THEY FIND OUT I’M  NOT GOOD AT MY JOB? I’M NOT GOOD ENOUGH I’M   SCARED OF GETTING OLD WHY DO THEY TREAT ME LIKE THAT? I’M SUCH AN IDIOT

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 DON’T BE VULNERABLE YOU’LL JUST GET HURT MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW   I’M BETTER OFF ON MY OWN NO ONE APPRECIATES HOW HARD I WORK 38 UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY I’M NOT GOOD ENOUGH I’M   OF GETTING OLD WHY DO THEY TREAT ME LIKE THAT? I’M SUCH AN IDIOT WHEN WILL THEY FIND OUT I’M  NOT GOOD AT MY JOB?

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 39 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 Peter Singer’s moral circle UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY Self Local community Nation All humans All mammals All living things All things Family Singer, P. (1981). The Expanding Circle. Oxford.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 40 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 Peter Singer’s moral circle UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY Self Local community Nation All humans All mammals All living things All things Centrifugal Forces Compassion, fairness and equality concerns, prejudge aversion, utilitarian principles Family Graham, J., et al. (2017). Centripetal and centrifugal forces in the moral circle. Cognition, 167, 58–65. centrum + fugio = center-fleeing

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 41 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 Peter Singer’s moral circle UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY Self Local community Nation All humans All mammals All living things All things Centripetal Forces Familial attachment, ingroup loyalty, scarcity concerns, principles of duty to close others Centrifugal Forces Compassion, fairness and equality concerns, prejudge aversion, utilitarian principles Family Graham, J., et al. (2017). Centripetal and centrifugal forces in the moral circle. Cognition, 167, 58–65. centrum + fugio = center-fleeing centrum + petere = center-seeking

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 42 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 self similars dissimilars society A simplified version of Singer’s moral circle yields four categories. UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 43 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 Our empathy changes across four categories. UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY self similars dissimilars society

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 44 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 Our empathy changes across four categories. UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY similars dissimilars society self The individual’s capacity to empathize and their inherent vulnerabilities.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 45 self The individual’s capacity to empathize and their inherent vulnerabilities. the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 Our empathy changes across four categories. UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY similars dissimilars society Those with traits, interests, experiences or identities matching the individual.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 46 The individual’s capacity to empathize and their inherent vulnerabilities. Those with traits, interests, experiences or identities matching the individual. self the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 Our empathy changes across four categories. UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY similars dissimilars society Those with traits, interests, experiences or identities different from the individual.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 47 self The individual’s capacity to empathize and their inherent vulnerabilities. Those with traits, interests, experiences or identities matching the individual. Those with traits, interests, experiences or identities different from the individual. the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 Our empathy changes across four categories. UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY similars dissimilars society The individual’s flawed conceptualization of the world, society and culture.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 48 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 self similars dissimilars society Our empathy changes across four categories. UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 49 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 self similars dissimilars society We know of 16 limitations to empathy. 1 2. 2.2 snapshot effect 2.3 empathic bias 3. 3.2 3.3 limited by imagination 3.4 double-empathy problem 4. 4.2 can fuel division 4.3 culturally embedded UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 50 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 self similars dissimilars society We’ve already explored one of them: the spotlight effect. 1 2. 2.2 snapshot effect 2.3 empathic bias 3. 3.2 3.3 limited by imagination 3.4 double-empathy problem 4. 4.2 can fuel division 4.3 culturally embedded UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY 2.1 spotlight effect

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 51 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 self similars dissimilars society It shines brightest on similars. 1 2. 2.2 snapshot effect 2.3 empathic bias 3. 3.2 3.3 limited by imagination 3.4 double-empathy problem 4. 4.2 can fuel division 4.3 culturally embedded UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY 2.1 spotlight effect shines brightest

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 52 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 self similars dissimilars society And dims on dissimilars and society. 1 2. 2.2 snapshot effect 2.3 empathic bias 3. 3.2 3.3 limited by imagination 3.4 double-empathy problem 4. 4.2 can fuel division 4.3 culturally embedded UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY dimmer further out 2.1 spotlight effect

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 53 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 self similars dissimilars society The spotlight effect is a form of selection bias. 1 2. 2.2 snapshot effect 2.3 empathic bias 3. 3.2 3.3 limited by imagination 3.4 double-empathy problem 4. 4.2 can fuel division 4.3 culturally embedded UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY 2.1 spotlight effect

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 self similars 54 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 society Let’s quickly explore another example. 1 2. 2.2 snapshot effect 2.3 empathic bias 3. 3.2 3.3 limited by imagination 3.4 double-empathy problem 4. 4.2 can fuel division 4.3 culturally embedded UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY 3.4 double-empathy problem dissimilars

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 dissimilars self similars 55 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 society Let’s quickly explore another example. 1 2. 2.2 snapshot effect 2.3 empathic bias 3. 3.2 3.3 limited by imagination 3.4 double-empathy problem 4. 4.2 can fuel division 4.3 culturally embedded UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY 2.2 snapshot effect similars

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 dissimilars self similars 56 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 society Let’s quickly explore another example. 1 2. 2.2 snapshot effect 2.3 empathic bias 3. 3.2 3.3 limited by imagination 3.4 double-empathy problem 4. 4.2 can fuel division 4.3 culturally embedded UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY 2.2 snapshot effect similars

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 similars self similars 57 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 society Let’s quickly explore another example. 1 2. 2.2 snapshot effect 2.3 empathic bias 3. 3.2 3.3 limited by imagination 3.4 double-empathy problem 4. 4.2 can fuel division 4.3 culturally embedded UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY dissimilars 3.4 double-empathy problem

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 58 the dangers of empathy · designing for digital 2023 The Double Empathy Problem EMPATHIC REASONING Images by Softscape from Noun Project  Both struggle to understand each other’s thoughts, feelings, behaviors and differences. Neurodiverse person Neurotypical person  

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 59 the dangers of empathy · designing for digital 2023 The Double Empathy Problem EMPATHIC REASONING Images by Softscape from Noun Project  Both struggle to understand each other’s thoughts, feelings, behaviors and differences. • Read between the lines • Dispel misconceptions • Manage sensory distractions Neurodiverse person may struggle to: Neurotypical person   may struggle to: • Form positive first impressions • Recognize their misconceptions • Understand sensory difficulties Neurodiverse person Neurotypical person  

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 60 the dangers of empathy · advancing research 3 5 Take a look for yourself. UNDERSTANDING EMPATHY bit.ly/empathylimitations →

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 61 WHAT IS CURIOSITY? “I know enough about you to design for you.” THIS SOUNDS LIKE Empathy alone is not enough for 21st century problems.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 62 WHAT IS CURIOSITY? “I’d like to know you more and design with you.” “I know enough about you to design for you.” THIS SOUNDS LIKE THIS SOUNDS LIKE Empathy alone is not enough for 21st century problems.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 What do these four things have in common? WHAT IS CURIOSITY? “I’m looking /  And feeling Minnesota” Outshined by Soundgarden 63

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 California Robert California (played by David Spader) Ferrari California California look What do these four things have in common? WHAT IS CURIOSITY? “I’m looking California / And feeling Minnesota” Outshined by Soundgarden 64

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 Robert California (played by David Spader) “I’m looking California / And feeling Minnesota” Outshined by Soundgarden person place thing idea I can empathize with… ⬤ What do these four things have in common? They are nouns. WHAT IS CURIOSITY? California Ferrari California California look 65

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 Our modern mindset affords us empathy for only living beings. WHAT IS CURIOSITY? “We think of empathy as an intimate, feeling- based understanding of another’s inner life. We do not think of it as a way of understanding inanimate objects.” — Gregory Currie 6 Empathy for Objects1 Gregory Currie We think of empathy as an intimate, feeling-based understanding of another’s inner life. We do not think of it as a way of understanding inanimate objects. Yet a century ago, talk of empathy for objects would have seemed very natural; it was the theme of a group of thinkers whose writings helped to found the notion of empathy itself. They were particularly interested in empathy as a means of attending to the aesthetic properties of things. That earlier programme will be my starting point, and I’ll call the participants in it the Empathists. I will move on quickly to see what light can be shed on their idea of empathy for objects by current research in the sciences of mind. I identify a class of processes which, I claim, underlie empathy for objects as well as personal empathy; these processes are often called simulative in a special sense that I will try to explain. I then have two questions to which I seek answers of at least a preliminary sort. What sort of access to worldly things, including artworks, are we given by these simulative processes; is it, in particular, a perceptual form of access? Second, what role if any does conscious awareness of these processes play in our aesthetic encounters with things? 6.1 Einfühlung The work of the Empathists has now largely disappeared from view, and the contem- porary research which supports some of its claims owes little to it.2 In some respects it 1 Versions of this paper were read to the Claremont Philosophy Colloquium at Pitzer College, and at conferences and colloquia at the Universities of Barcelona, Durham, Geneva, Illinois Urbana-Champagne, Nottingham, and Otago. Aaron Meskin, Jerome Singer, and Kathleen Stock commented on the paper at Durham and I am grateful for their criticisms and suggestions. Thanks also to Noe ¨l Carroll, Paul Harris, Henry Kripps, Patrizia Lombardo, Michele Miozzo, Margaret Moore, Kevin Mulligan, Jenefer Robinson, and Kendall Walton. Comments from Rae Langton brought about some late changes to Section 2, while Matthew Kennedy and Murray Smith were especially helpful in formulating the claims of Section 3. Discussions with Michael Mack helped me to ﬁnd my way through some of the history. 2 Kevin Mulligan brought to my attention Melchior Pala ´gyi, an intriguing ﬁgure whose work, contem- porary with that of the Empathists but not so far as I know related to it, is suggestive of the direction empirical work has subsequently taken. William Boyce Gibson wrote an appreciative, two-part account of Pala ´gyi’s work, the second part of which describes his theory of the imagination (1928). 66

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 “I’m looking California / And feeling Minnesota” Outshined by Soundgarden person place thing idea I can empathize with… ⬤ I can be curious about… ⬤ ⬤ ⬤ ⬤ I can care for… ⬤ ⬤ ⬤ ⬤ We tend to empathize only with people. Curiosity and care are more versatile. WHAT IS CURIOSITY? Robert California (played by David Spader) California Ferrari California California look 67

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 WHAT IS CURIOSITY? 68 Care and curiosity are linguistically rooted. curius Old French (1000s) curioso Spanish curioso Italian (1300S) full of care or pains, careful, assiduous, inquisitive cūriōsus Latin (300s) curious Modern English coryous, corious,   curiuse, curiyus Middle English (1500s) cura Latin Care, concern, means of healing (cure) "curious, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2021. “ “ “ “

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 “Only brush the teeth you want to keep.” 69

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 70 “ Human-centered design is not the answer to our problems but is itself   part of the problem.” — Ron Wakkary

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 71 : , of design decision-making well in mind. Because we now operate in a globalized state of culture, design needs to seek new territories to off- set the relentless uniformity derived from our current cycle of mass culture/consumption. As defined here, care cannot follow trends that become out-dated after a short time, and therefore reflects a profound evolution in our vision and perception of the world and our way of inhabiting it. Because our universe has become a territo- ry, all dimensions of which may be traveled both in time and space, it is only with care that design can make contributions towards the maintenance of a stable environment and sensible material situation worldwide. Further, design needs to take as much care as possible as it evolves its educational and professional practices because it can now only try to make sense from journeying through a chaotic and undisciplined ecology layered with non-essentials. It must be stressed that care is not a service product designed primarily to be served. Like design, the purpose of care is to affect the way we live. In our increas- ingly population-aging world, within which we are about to cross a demographic landmark of huge social and economic importance—the proportion of the global population aged 65 years and over is set to outnumber the population of children under five years of age for the first time—how we design and care for unprecedented numbers of pensioners and retirees will bring with it huge challenges for policy- makers, designers, healthcare providers, and families. ³⁴ There will be more than 1 billion people living in the world who will have effectively aged out of its workforce by 2040. With care, however, design can play a major role in transforming how health and social care looks and feels for many of these people. Working collaboratively, designers, to- 34 National Institute on Aging. Global Health and Aging, Washington D.C., USA: National Institute on Aging and National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011. 29 projects of the user and designer. The phenomenon of fashion points to new possibilities for the notion of usability, wherein people might now have to craft their own personalized and customized world. ³³ 08 Design with Care With the failure of the structural mega-programs of the twentieth century, there is a need to transgress frigid technological perfection into genial ecological possibilities, and this has to be done with care. In this context, care refers to designing with the macro and micro social, technological, economic, environmental and political effects 32 Bateson, G. Steps to an Ecology of Mind. New York, NY, USA: Ballantine Books, 1972. 33 Bremner, C. “Usability.” In Design Dictionary: Perspectives on Design Terminology, edited by T. Marshall & M. Erlhoff, pgs. 425-428. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhauser, 2008. Dialectic Volume I, Issue I: Theoretical Speculation The Concept Of The Design Discipline . ¹ ² 1. Imagination, Lancaster University, 2. Charles Sturt University, School of Creative Industries, Australia : Rodgers, P.A., & Bremner, C. “The Concept of the Design Discipline.” Dialectic, 1.1 (2016): pgs. 19-38. : http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/dialectic.14932326.0001.104 Abstract In their previous work, the authors have demonstrated that the discipline of design has been superseded by a condition where conventionally set design disciplines have dissolved. ¹²³ In this age where design is typified by fluid, evolving patterns of practice that regularly traverse, transcend and transfigure historical disciplinary and conceptual boundaries, the authors have argued that globalization and the proliferation of the digital has resulted in connections that are no longer ‘amid,’ cannot be measured ‘across,’ nor encompass a ‘whole’ system. In short, this ‘disciplinary turn’ has generated an ‘other’ dimension—an alternative disciplinarity. ⁴ Moreover, this reliance on the ‘exhausted’ historic disciplines has become obsolete as the boundaries of our understanding have been superseded by a boundless space/time that we call ‘alterplinarity.’ ⁵ The fragmenta- tion of distinct disciplines has shifted creative practice from being ‘discipline-based’ to ‘issue- or project-based.’ ⁶ Consequently, this paper presents a manifesto for the future design discipline that emphasizes disposing carefully of what you know, teaching what you do not know whilst al- ways taking design seriously, protecting us from what we want, objecting to sustaining everything, designing without reproach, ensuring that objects are invisible but designed with care and within history whilst exploring design as an idea rather than an ideal. 1 Rodgers, P.A. & Bremner, C. “Alterplinarity—‘Alternative Disciplinarity,’ in Future Art and Design Research Pur- suits.” Studies in Material Thinking, 6 (2011). 2 Rodgers, P.A. & Bremner, C. “Exhausting Discipline: Undisciplined and Irresponsible Design.” Architecture and Culture, 1.1 (2013): pgs. 138-158. 3 Ibid. 4 Rodgers, P.A. & Bremner, C. “Alterplinarity—‘Alternative Disciplinarity,’ in Future Art and Design Research Pur- suits.” Studies in Material Thinking, 6 (2011). 5 Rodgers, P.A. & Bremner, C. “Exhausting Discipline: Undisciplined and Irresponsible Design.” Architecture and Culture, 1.1 (2013): pgs. 138-158. 6 Heppell, S. “RSA Lectures: Stephen Heppell: Learning 2016,”RSA Lectures, 30 June, 2006. Online. Available at: http://www.teachers.tv/video/4957 (Accessed December 22, 2010). Copyright © 2016, Dialectic and the Design Educators Community ( ).All rights reserved. Rodgers, P.A., & Bremner, C. “The Concept of the Design Discipline.” Dialectic, 1.1 (2016): pgs. 19-38. “ Care refers to designing with the macro and micro social, technological, economic, environmental and political effects of design decision-making well in mind.” — Rodgers and Bremner

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 “Only brush the teeth you want to keep.” 72 Only care for the planets you wish to keep.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 73 A compass helps us explore the unfamiliar. Maps show familiar lands.

of empathy · designing for digital 2023 The Dangers of Empathy 74 bit.ly/empathylimitations Cassini Nazir Assistant Professor University of North Texas A compass helps us explore the unfamiliar.

The Dangers of Empathy - D4D Conference

The Dangers of Empathy - D4D Conference

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