Modern notions of empathy often celebrate its ability to bridge divides, to unite humankind. But how do we square this with the popular view that we can never truly comprehend the experience of being someone else? In this book, Samuel Fleischacker delves into the work of Adam Smith to draw out an un...

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Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Fleischacker, Samuel (Author)
Format:	Electronic eBook
Language:	English
Published:	Chicago University of Chicago Press [2019]
Subjects:	Smith, Adam > 1723-1790 Adam Smith David Hume cosmopolitanism empathy humanism humanity moral philosophy perspective PHILOSOPHY / General Empathy Einfühlung
Online Access:	DE-355 DE-706
Summary:	Modern notions of empathy often celebrate its ability to bridge divides, to unite humankind. But how do we square this with the popular view that we can never truly comprehend the experience of being someone else? In this book, Samuel Fleischacker delves into the work of Adam Smith to draw out an understanding of empathy that respects both personal difference and shared humanity. After laying out a range of meanings for the concept of empathy, Fleischacker proposes that what Smith called "sympathy" is very much what we today consider empathy. Smith's version has remarkable value, as his empathy calls for entering into the perspective of another-a uniquely human feat that connects people while still allowing them to define their own distinctive standpoints. After discussing Smith's views in relation to more recent empirical and philosophical studies, Fleischacker shows how turning back to Smith promises to enrich, clarify, and advance our current debates about the meaning and uses of empathy
Item Description:	Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 29. Feb 2020)
Physical Description:	1 online resource (248 pages)
ISBN:	9780226661926