tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204664686568393114.post1319744515005605370..comments2023-11-02T01:43:20.189-07:00Comments on At Wisdom's End: The Ugly Truth: Killing Masculine CompassionSamuel C Bunchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931395216787784171noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204664686568393114.post-18165205798323527552016-04-21T16:57:53.102-07:002016-04-21T16:57:53.102-07:00Indeed, Jack. I don't think that men on avera...Indeed, Jack. I don't think that men on average have any less innate compassion than women do. By and large, the folks who do think so are making the error of defining compassion as a set of behaviors in which women are more likely to engage than men, thus prejudicing their conclusion about which sex is more compassionate.<br /><br />This is often coming out of an understandable desire to value typical feminine modes over typical masculine modes as a corrective to the tendency of others value typical masculine modes over typical feminine modes. Unfortunately, that doesn't create the balance we need, but rather swings us out of balance in the other direction.Samuel C Bunchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13931395216787784171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204664686568393114.post-29143318570732592712016-04-19T19:59:27.856-07:002016-04-19T19:59:27.856-07:00There are some who would contend that males actual...There are some who would contend that males actually show no less empathy than females do, on average. For example, men might be more likely to help out in situations in which women would (on average) be more risk-averse, such as offering a ride to an unkempt hitchhiker or breaking up a fight (you more or less alluded to this in your post, that men show empathy in different ways that women). Women, on the other hand, might be more likely to show empathy in more stereotypical ways (such as providing physical comfort and support). In the end, it probably averages out. The idea that women have a monopoly on compassion, though, is a great oversimplification (I realize you yourself did not promote that idea in your post, but many would argue that the increased physical aggressiveness of males means that they are therefore less compassionate as a whole than females).Jack DisPennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01999955744311475772noreply@blogger.com