Compassion needs wisdom



On this topic
Date: Mon, 09 Oct 1995 15:40:24 +0100
From: "peter.harvey"
Subject: Compassion needs wisdom
Steven Jamar asks:
'Would anyone have the temerity to justify Pol Pot on the grounds of cultural relativism?@

It may even be the case that Pol Pot saw himself as acting out of comassionate regard for the Khmer people. The same for Hitler with the 'Aryan people'. This simply illustrates that compassion must be guided by wisdom -otherwise it is not genuine compassion, or is limited compassion. Both Pol Pot and Hitler (and Stalin) illustrate the powerful effect-for-evil of clinging to views, especially wrong views. This shows how important it is that people have the right to challenge other people's views. Though this does not guarantee that a whole society may not agree on holding certain wrong views. Though such wrong views often produce a reaction which brings their demise, this is not always the case, and so cultures can persist in such wrong views too, eg. relating to female circumscision.

Peter Harvey
Date: Mon, 09 Oct 1995 15:27:41 -0400
From: williams
Subject: Re: Compassion needs wisdom
At 03:40 PM 10/9/95 +0100, peter.harvey wrote:
SSteven Jamar asks:
>'Would anyone have the temerity to justify Pol Pot on the grounds of cultural relativism?@

>It may even be the case that Pol Pot saw himself as acting out of comassionate regard for the Khmer people. The same for Hitler with the 'Aryan people'. This simply illustrates that compassion must be guided by wisdom -otherwise it is not genuine compassion, or is limited compassion. Both Pol Pot and Hitler (and Stalin) illustrate the powerful effect-for-evil of clinging to views, especially wrong views. This shows how important it is that people have the right to challenge other people's views. Though this does not guarantee that a whole society may not agree on holding certain wrong views. Though such wrong views often produce a reaction which brings their demise, this is not always the case, and so cultures can persist in such wrong views too, eg. relating to female circumscision.

Clinging is clinging. It doesn't matter if the views are right or wrong. How are to to discern right views from wrong views if you cling to views?

Hitler's "compassion" is not compassion -- just like the "compassion" of those who have posted on this list that humans are somehow better than animals or plants is not compassion.

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Sphere.