POWER of meanings // MEANINGS of power
  • About
  • Introduction
  • Browse the book
    • All the pages alphabetically >
      • A >
        • Power: Against the Flow, with the Flow
        • Animal power
        • Addiction and power
        • Absolute power
        • Anxiety and power
      • B >
        • Bureaucracy and power
        • Buddhism
        • Binary thinking
      • C >
        • Cause and effect
        • Circumstances and Power
        • Power as a chess game
        • Choice
        • (Power to) change how you see things
        • Choosing meanings
        • Consumerism
        • Corrupted by power
      • D >
        • Discovering your power
      • E >
        • Empowerment
        • Empathy and power
        • (Power to) enjoy the moment
        • Entropy and power
      • F >
        • Foucault's "power is everywhere"
        • Free will
      • G
      • H >
        • Having power and using power
        • Human brain and power
      • I >
        • Intersectionality and power
        • Improving mental abilities
        • (Power to) improve your mood
        • In control
        • Inequality
        • Influencing each other
        • Intentionality and power
      • K >
        • Knowledge and power
      • L >
        • "Power" in language
        • Language has power over us
        • Limited resources
        • Louis XIV and Absolute Power
      • M >
        • Making an effort is a prerequisite of using power
        • Marxism and the meaning of power
        • "May" power
        • Micropower: Individual power
        • Mindfulness
        • Media and Digital Literacy as Forms of Individual Power
        • (Mis)understanding of power in media texts
        • Money and Power
        • My synesthetic perception of "power"
      • N >
        • (Nature) Power of nature
      • O >
        • Power on/off
      • P >
        • Power as ability
        • Power as influence
        • Power vs. powerlessness
        • Physical power
        • Power is not a thing
        • Power of speech
        • Privilege
        • Power of the powerless
      • R >
        • Responsibility, blame and power
      • S >
        • (Power of) seeing
        • Self-awareness and power
        • Snapshot power
        • (Ability and influence in) social and non-social power
        • Socialization and power
        • (Power of) stories
        • Studying power
        • Synonyms of power
      • T >
        • Theory of micro- and macropower
      • U >
        • Using power is rewarding
        • Understanding Power Imbalances Is Not Excusing
      • V >
        • Vector power
      • W >
        • What is power?
        • Willpower
    • Completed pages
  • Author
    • My creative process

Empathy and Power

PAGE IN PROGRESS
What you see here is a page of my hypertext book POWER of meanings // MEANINGS of power. Initially empty, this page will slowly be filled with thoughts, notes, and quotes. One day, I will use them to write a coherent entry, similar to these completed pages. Thank you for your interest and patience! 
Empathy exchange: we need to take turns giving each other empathy 
There needs to be an understanding that both sides will receive empathy in an interaction 
Empathy is like tango; it take two to tango, it takes two to do empathy 

Being kinder to yourself as a form of power: https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/three-steps-toward-self-compassion

Power to understand another person’s perspective: Sky’s conflict at the pool with the stick 
IT’s developmental - Sky might not have it yet so it’s hard to use what you don’t have 
Most adults do have this power but they do not necessarily use it because it requires significant effort 

Mean/stupid or sick (pathological, not normal - connect to “norm”)

Imagining people we dislike, whose actions we disapprove of as children. How did they develop their coping mechanisms, how did they develop their worldview. It is tough to imagine someone we strongly dislike as a child and try to understand how they became who they are


The importance of purpose: song “so I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here”. People often do something because they really care. Telling them that they are wrong is not the best strategy. They chose this purpose, it matters to them. 

empathy: understanding limitations of the other person’s power and the power of circumstances 

Jenn's research about solutions journalism: if we are informed just about problems, our engagement and empathy are decreased. They are only increased if we also learn about solutions.
It is easy to call people "bad" because they seemingly don't want to help somebody who needs it. But perhaps they just don't know how? Because they cannot envision a solution, it is easier to disengage, or even resort to blame ("it's their fault anyway").


Developing empathy to people we dislike. First you need to do know why it’s important (my research about power), then you need to know it is possible (loving kindness meditation)
Then actual practices:
  • imagining the other person as a child; personality disorders can stem from our upbringing- use link to quora in inbox)
  • Imagining yourself in their place 
  • Describing their feelings and needs (going beyond mean and stupid)

​On forgiveness: power of forgiveness. Benefits for the person who forgives:


Forgiveness is not a talent that you either have or don’t have.  It is a skill that takes a great deal of effort, willpower, and motivation.  It must be practiced. 
The effects can be profound. Nelson Mandela was once asked how he was able to forgive his jailers who had locked him up unjustly for 27 years. He said, “When I walked out of the gate, I knew that if I continued to hate these people, I was still in prison.”
https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/writing-a-forgiveness-letter

​
Idea that I did not create but that I believe in: you should not fight violence with violence. What’s the alternative? Fight violence with compassion. Three objections: it’s too difficult, it’s just not logical to get through the violent ones instead of helping the victims. To the one I can say: it takes effort, but you can do it little by little. To the second one, the answer has two parts: (1) why can’t we do both? (2) in order to explain the logic behind it I decided to create a whole theory, a theory of power.
Different way to say it: people say: why should I put an effort into understanding someone I hate? 

James Gee, Intro to Discourse Analysis, chapter 10, "​Deep canvasing " to trigger empathy


If you are interested in getting updates about this project (e.g., when new pages are published), please sign up for the newsletter on my main website.

I use AI tools as a kind of writing partner—to shape drafts, clarify arguments, and explore phrasing. But the ideas, perspectives, and direction are always my own. Every piece here is part of an evolving personal project. For more details about my use of AI, see here.
  • About
  • Introduction
  • Browse the book
    • All the pages alphabetically >
      • A >
        • Power: Against the Flow, with the Flow
        • Animal power
        • Addiction and power
        • Absolute power
        • Anxiety and power
      • B >
        • Bureaucracy and power
        • Buddhism
        • Binary thinking
      • C >
        • Cause and effect
        • Circumstances and Power
        • Power as a chess game
        • Choice
        • (Power to) change how you see things
        • Choosing meanings
        • Consumerism
        • Corrupted by power
      • D >
        • Discovering your power
      • E >
        • Empowerment
        • Empathy and power
        • (Power to) enjoy the moment
        • Entropy and power
      • F >
        • Foucault's "power is everywhere"
        • Free will
      • G
      • H >
        • Having power and using power
        • Human brain and power
      • I >
        • Intersectionality and power
        • Improving mental abilities
        • (Power to) improve your mood
        • In control
        • Inequality
        • Influencing each other
        • Intentionality and power
      • K >
        • Knowledge and power
      • L >
        • "Power" in language
        • Language has power over us
        • Limited resources
        • Louis XIV and Absolute Power
      • M >
        • Making an effort is a prerequisite of using power
        • Marxism and the meaning of power
        • "May" power
        • Micropower: Individual power
        • Mindfulness
        • Media and Digital Literacy as Forms of Individual Power
        • (Mis)understanding of power in media texts
        • Money and Power
        • My synesthetic perception of "power"
      • N >
        • (Nature) Power of nature
      • O >
        • Power on/off
      • P >
        • Power as ability
        • Power as influence
        • Power vs. powerlessness
        • Physical power
        • Power is not a thing
        • Power of speech
        • Privilege
        • Power of the powerless
      • R >
        • Responsibility, blame and power
      • S >
        • (Power of) seeing
        • Self-awareness and power
        • Snapshot power
        • (Ability and influence in) social and non-social power
        • Socialization and power
        • (Power of) stories
        • Studying power
        • Synonyms of power
      • T >
        • Theory of micro- and macropower
      • U >
        • Using power is rewarding
        • Understanding Power Imbalances Is Not Excusing
      • V >
        • Vector power
      • W >
        • What is power?
        • Willpower
    • Completed pages
  • Author
    • My creative process