Talk focuses on compassion after Sept. 11
By SARAH NESTOR
News Writer
Martha Nussbaum gave the keynote address "Patriotism and Compassion" as a part of the Play of the Mind conference last evening at Saint Mary's.
Nussbaum's lecture focused on what compassion is and whether or not the feelings of compassion that are present post-Sept. 11 will continue far into the future.
"America's towers have burned too." Nussbaum said. "In that evidence, compassion for people who had never been thought of before was found."
Nussbaum began the lecture with classic Greek play by Euripides entitled "Women of Troy." The play deals with issues such as destruction, rape, slavery and a myriad of awful deeds. Nussbaum noted that Euripides likened his characters to those found in Athens, pointing out that people feel compassion when they can relate to them.
She also spoke on how that compassion can easily be forgotten. She recalled Adam Smith's observation that a man in Europe who hears about an deadly earthquake in China will feel compassion but he will still sleep easily that night. Though, if he cut his finger it would not be as easy to forget and sleep easy.
"We thought Sept. 11 was bad because it happened to us. But when there was genocide in Rwanda, and innocent civilians in Saudi Arabia were killed, and for the daily deaths of malnutrition and hunger there is little compassion," Nussbaum said.
She described this as a momentary flicker of emotion that easily fades. Nussbaum said that compassion is not just a warm feeling in the gut but an emotion focused on another's suffering. She also added that compassion couldn't be experienced if we believe they deserve the suffering.
"The things that bring about strong emotions are those things that we have put great importance in," Nussbaum said. "We have compassion for what we have an interest in and feel by those things that are important to us."
Compassion requires an understanding of and respect for human dignity. Humans must put their value for themselves and others at a higher level than the value of external goods such as power and money.
"An ideal patriotism is constrained by a respect and compassion for others," Nussbaum said.
Nussbaum is an Ernst Freund Professor of Law and Ethic at the University of Chicago and holds appointments in law, philosophy, divinity and classics at Chicago. She is one of the premier public intellectuals and was recognized by Time magazine as one of the seven prominent intellectuals of the 21st century.
Nussbaum has written a number of books about ideals. The recent "Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education" was awarded the Grawemeyer Award in Education.
The 11th Play of the Mind conference continues this weekend at Saint Mary's with representatives from 13 different colleges participating.
Nest9877@saintmaerys.edu
All News Stories for Friday, January 25, 2002
