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From: laura@l5.uucp (Laura Creighton)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: defining racism -- Laura on compassion
Message-ID: <379@l5.uucp>
Date: Mon, 30-Dec-85 14:05:01 EST
Article-I.D.: l5.379
Posted: Mon Dec 30 14:05:01 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 2-Jan-86 19:51:02 EST
References: <167@ucbjade.BERKELEY.EDU> <260@gargoyle.UUCP> <2 <383@ubvax.UUCP> <336@l5.uucp> <914@psivax.UUCP>
Reply-To: laura@l5.UUCP (Laura Creighton)
Organization: Nebula Consultants in San Francisco
Lines: 32

In article <914@psivax.UUCP> friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen) writes:
>
>	Very likely, perhaps you could help each other out by giveing
>your respective definitions of comapassion. Actually Laura's
>definition of compassion seems to me to be essentially the same as the
>the definition for "personal understanding", or at least they are very
>closely related.

This is coming.  ``Personal understanding'' does not quite cut it, though it
is quite close.  The problem with it is that people think that they can
turn personal understanding on and off like a faucet.  Compassion is more
of an attitude, or a way of being than this.

>>>respond to it, without letting a compassionate attempt to understand
>>>it cloud one's judgment.  
>>
>>Compassion does *not* cloud one's judgement.  Are you talking about
>>fear of hurting other people here?  This isn't compassion.
>>
>	In fact I would say that "knowing what someone feels so that
>one can respond to it" is a major component of what you, Laura, would
>call compassion(am I right?) In that case the distinction that is
>being drawn above is artificial. I certainly understand what you are saying
>about compassion not necessarily clouding judgement.

Knowing what someone feels is a major componenet of compassion.  Knowing why
(or at least trying to) is another component.

-- 
Laura Creighton		
sun!l5!laura		(that is ell-five, not fifteen)
l5!laura@lll-crg.arpa