The two enlargements that are needed are: first, to feel sympathy even when the sufferer is not an object of special affection; secondly, to feel it when the suffering is merely known to be occurring, not sensibly present. The second of these enlargements depends largely upon intelligence.
Source: On Education, especially in early childhood, 1926, by Bertrand Russell
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/OE02-1760.HTM
* a brief comment:
Einstein once said -- though exactly where and under what circumstances is unclear --
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."
This statement may in fact be a paraphrased version of what he said in a 1929 interview:
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."
We now live in a world filled with an unprecedented volume of knowledge. In the past, works like the Heibonsha World Encyclopedia symbolized the pinnacle of human understanding. Today, the internet holds information on a scale far beyond that, and AI systems like ChatGPT make use of it all.
Yet for us human beings, what matters is not only access to appropriate knowledge at the right time, but also imagination -- and just as importantly, compassion for others.
Anyone who truly understands this will surely resonate with today's quote from Russell.
As Russell points out, how many of us are truly capable of "feeling sympathy even when the sufferer is not an object of special affection," or "feeling it when the suffering is merely known to be occurring, not sensibly present"?
No -- let's not speak of others.
How about you?
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