“The Ethics of Empathy” Seminar

“The Ethics of Empathy” Seminar
Presented by the Sydney Node of The ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, Europe 1100-1800

Date: Wednesday 22 October 2014
Venue: Dixson Room, State Library of NSW, Sydney
Convenor: Juanita Ruys (The University of Sydney)
Registration: Registration is free, however, as the event is catered, please email Craig Lyons at craig.lyons@sydney.edu.au to confirm your attendance by 8 October 2014. All welcome.

Empathy as a term is a modern concept, but the idea of a fellow-feeling with others has a long history. In the twenty-first century—in a world of global charities, tax-deductible donations, and instant outpourings of funds and expressions of grief in the wake of human and natural disasters—it might seem that empathy is the natural reaction to the suffering of others, an inherent good. But does this reflect the history of empathic feelings? Is there an alternative tradition in which empathy is seen as a dangerous emotion, one capable of derailing higher ethical imperatives, such as reason, justice, salvation? What is the relationship between empathy and sympathy and which of these —if either—should we be cultivating? What role does aesthetics play in initiating and motivating our empathic impulses? Can the creative arts— whether fine arts, film, or literature—trigger empathy-driven action, and do they have a duty to do so? If so, should they be aiming to elicit responses at the level of the individual conscience or produce a cultural phenomenon that subsumes the individual in group identity and action? Does religion relate to questions of empathy and its potential imperatives differently from philosophy, and how do these massive semiotic systems valorize the links between aesthetics, ethics, and action? These are some of the big questions to be addressed in ‘Ethics of Empathy’ symposium.

Keynote:

  • Robert Sinnerbrink (Macquarie University): “Empathic Ethics: Phenomenology, Cognitivism, and Moving Images”

Speakers:

  • Louise D’Arcens (University of Wollongong)
  • Helen Day (University of Central Lancashire)
  • Yasmin Haskell (The University of Western Australia)
  • Fincina Hopgood (The University of Melbourne)
  • Jay Johnston (The University of Sydney)
  • Andrew Lynch (The University of Western Australia)
  • Juanita Ruys (The University of Sydney)
  • Carolyn Strange (Australian National University)
  • Anik Waldow (The University of Sydney)

For full information, please visit: http://historyofemotions.org.au/events/ethics-of-empathy.aspx