Late on a Saturday night of St. Laurent bar-hopping, you walk into the dingy bathroom of Bar Bifteck to find a college-aged stranger kneeling over the toilet. They appear to be alone. You go over and ask if they are okay, offering to hold their hair back or to get[Read More…]
Tag: empathy
Think you know how your friends feel? Think again
Can you always accurately tell how your friends are feeling? What about the stranger across from you on the metro? Can you differentiate between someone smiling out of happiness, excitement, or contentment? If you think “yes,” recent research may come as a surprise. Alexandrija Zikic, a graduate psychology student working[Read More…]
‘I feel you’
Empathy is often talked about in popular culture, particularly within the realms of politics, advertising, and psychology. Articles from ‘Why Empathy May Be Your Most Important Business Skill’ to ‘How to Avoid the Empathy Trap’ are popping up all over the internet. Generally, popular culture labels empathy as a positive,[Read More…]
Media response to tragedies in Paris and Beirut incite controversy
On Nov. 12, 2015, 43 civilians lost their lives in twin bombings claimed by ISIS in Beirut. The next day, 129 civilians lost their lives in multiple ISIS attacks in Paris. Both tragedies have drawn in sympathy and well-wishes from around the world, but this support has been met with[Read More…]
Commentary: The dangers of empathic giving
A few weeks ago in February, James Robertson, a 56-year-old factory worker from Detroit, told police he no longer felt safe in his home. Ever since his car broke down in 2005, Robertson has walked 34 kilometres to work, five days a week. But after a touching news story about[Read More…]