Empathy, Imagining and the Institute Of Imagination

This blog is about empathy which, I think, plays a vital role in the health of any society. It is something I've been interested in for a few years now and especially since 2012 when I started my philosophy UG dissertation on Hume and Sympathy and the possibility of empathy being a good base from which to develop an ethical theory. Although I looked at it from a feminist point of view, I challenged the prevalent feminist ethical theory which is based on the ethics of care. This blog is not a feminist blog as such because I have one exclusively dedicated to that, available at:

https://marchingasonefeministblog.blogspot.co.uk/

But feminism will play a part in my discussions here on empathy, which has now taken on a larger, broader scope than my dissertation allowed. For my dissertation, see:

http://www.academia.edu/30107525/BA_Philosophy_London_uni_4yr_part_time_Dissertation_finals_2013_A_Feminist_History_of_Philosophy_Approach_to_Sympathy_and_the_Concept_of_Empathy_in_Hume_On_the_Possibility_of_an_Empathy-Based_Moral_Theory

also downloadable at: http://libakaucky.academia.edu/research 

I then furthered this dissertation by applying the concept of empathy to politics within feminist philosophy. I wrote this as a PhD proposal in 2014, which is available at: 

http://www.academia.edu/30078762/PhD_proposal_A_Feminist_Interpretation_of_the_Role_of_Empathy_in_Political_Philosophy.docx 

also downloadable at: http://libakaucky.academia.edu/research

Since then, this proposal has become part of a larger independent research project of mine on empathy and hate speech, which is hugely topical at the moment. My project outline for this is available at: 

http://www.academia.edu/33174790/On_the_possible_Role_of_Empathy_in_Preventing_the_Vice_of_Hate_Speech_abstract_and_work_in_progress_2016-2017 

also downloadable at: http://libakaucky.academia.edu/research 

However, I shall not be restricting myself on this blog to just my ongoing research on empathy but rather, I'll discuss it wherever and whenever it crops up in society, the media, psychology, politics and so on. One such example I happened upon recently is the Institute of Imagination (IOI, London, UK) which supports the Imagination Matters which champions the idea that imagination is vital to children's health, education and creative development in many subjects, ranging from the arts to the sciences. It also shows that imagination is important for society as a whole and, as the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan mentions (quoted on the IOI website), creativity and imagination contribute to various sectors such as business, education and culture. For more on this and the IOI see:

http://ioi.london/latest/mayor-london-joins-campaign-for-imagination/

Imagination is part of empathy because it enables us to see things from another's point of view. Indeed, Imagination Matters has an entire section on their website dedicated to empathy, see:

http://www.imaginationmatters.org/index.php/category/imagination/empathy/

As this section shows, empathy has a broad application to various aspects of life, whether it's to understand what your best friend is going through or what a Holocaust survivor endured. It also applies to the arts, as Dame Darcey Bussell, who supports Imagination Matters, points out:   

"As a professional dancer it is essential to put yourself into the shoes of others, to empathise with a feeling or an emotion, in order to connect truthfully with an audience."

"By truly trying to empathise with others and imagining not only how they might feel but also how our actions and movements might make them feel, we can strive to be the best of ourselves and help many." 

available at: http://www.imaginationmatters.org/index.php/2018/02/12/dame-darcey-bussell/