Is compassion a Strength or a weakness?

So is it then an evolutionary necessity ?

So.. If I live in the West.
One Western life is greater than one eastern life because of the associations, me as an individual have with the west ?
And It's ok to do that ? Isn't this the cold ugly truth ?, that we only look out for our own, and that our own has now become so big, that we can only look out for them in a broader context, and compassion is a cover term ?

Why not have both ?, Have compassion, but only for your side.. that's what they did for WWII. I guess we just don't have enough to care enough.

 

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Crime still exists because it's easier and even lazy to commit crime instead of working with your fellow human beings to attain the things you need. James R is right in saying that a lack of compassion is the weakness and is why we have crime, violence and other social issues. If we are compassionate towards one another then greed, envy, pride and violence could disappear... do I think that all humans are capable of being compassionate? No. I am not that idealistic... humans are a lazy lot. Why do any work they don't get anything out of? You have to learn to let go of things, and realize there is more value in humans then there is in the things that surround you. It's not something people can easily do, or can come to by accident.

Compassion is a very powerful thing that can change the world. It doesn't have to be seen or felt, but is an earnest need to reduce the suffering of others who you may never meet. Even if it's done for self-satisfaction of some sort, but eased the suffering of another, it is still a powerful force. Compassionate people can embrace the world with open arms and while they may get burned in the process, their ego isn't vested in the return. It's as close to being unselfish as humans can be, I believe.

 

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Hang on.. You said you may get a self satisfaction of a sort, but your ego isn't vested in compassion ?

I thought compassion was an ideal, and like most ideals it's easy to get burnt ?

 

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There are rare few people in the world who have compassion without their ego interfering. Humans are very interested in their own self-worth, and that makes compassion a practice in and of itself.

 

I'd help, but that's also irrelevant.

 

So lack of compassion is an advantage that allows some people to exploit the others for their own good through minimal effort. Plays against the society, but plays in favor of the individual.

 

Being compassionate doesn't mean being weak; being compassionate without being wise, is. For example, if somebody keeps harming you and you keep forgiving them without giving them any learning effect, it's not compassion. Imo, ultimately being compassionate is being care of other's well-being or betterment. It needs strength to do so, and so the compassionate ones are the strong one. Example: Muhammad, Jesus, Budha, Gandhi, etc.

 

So it's basically a measure of effort and benefit, just like everything else in life.

 

If lawlessness and greed, no personal safety or rights and lots of mayhem is your goal... sure. And if you likewise understand that that which can be taken from someone else, can be taken from you, then it's an advantage to be the selfish one... but only if you have the bigger gun.

A lack of compassion is sort of giving away your own personal right to benefit from society as well. Eventually, as we do with all really selfish people, we leave them to their own devices and off to fend for themselves. So if you presuppose that humans don't need kindness and compassion, and like to live as sociopaths... then hooray for the individual and who gives a fuck about anyone else. Not the kind of people I'd ever hope to meet, but to each their own.

I don't know, if you really consider that people who are selfish and spoiled and will step on anyone to get what they need/want successful in life then it's an advantage I guess.

Most of those people die alone, or in the company of people who think of them as nothing but a wallet anyhow.

 

I don't know if you have a problem with reading comprehension or if you just like to make things a lot more confused than then need to be, since that whole paragraph you just wrote can be summed by something that was in my previous post:

There has always been, and there will probably always be people who exploit the system. The ability to empathize with others and not wish for them what you wouldn't wish on yourself has probably been very helpful throughout the existence of our species. But it's just one way to go about it which happened to be the way we ended up absorbing into our cultures. It could have gone either way, for better or for worse.

 

In the long run, there is no such thing.

In the long run, it is plays against the society, and plays against the individual.

As we get older and sicker (and we do), we depend more and more on others.

 

So, in a sense it's a weakness, because if compassion is a measure of self worth, it can be taken advantage of.
Does society value it as such ?, As a measure of self worth/value to others ?

 

In the long run it doesn't matter. You just need to live long enough to make babies.

 

Why would you need to make babies?

 

No, compassion isn't a measure of self-worth but it does play into ones perception of it. It's not the whole, just a part of it if that person chooses. But if you put no weight on it for yourself, it can't be taken advantage of. If it's in ones nature to be compassionate and isn't done for ego or selfish reasons, it can't be taken advantage of. I do think that people judge others on the amount of compassion they show towards one another. You wouldn't leave your small child with someone with no compassion, would you? We would like the people around us to be compassionate and caring, and not cold or callous because the compassionate and caring ones are more likely to enrich our lives. Compassionate people usually only get with the negative, cold and callous people out of duty or a sense that they can save them from themselves somehow. And while that can be taken advantage of because it's a misguided notion to begin with and needs a result, true compassion needs no result.

 

It's a strength when you have it towards people who love you and towards people who have compassion towards others. It's a weakness when you have compassion for people who hate you and who have no compassion towards anyone.

The strength or weakness of an emotion depends entirely on the application of that emotion, whether or not it's applied rationally or irrationally. Irrationality is weakness, not any specific emotion. If you try to love your enemies its irrational, because they are coming to kill you and you are helping them.

 

Of course it matters. Without it we wouldn't have a society at all, we'd be in a constant state of nature. I'd kill you because you being alive means less resources for me. I'd kill all men who aren't loyal to me because a disloyal man would be better off a dead man. But I do have compassion, and I'm civilized.

The reason we aren't in a state of nature is because we are civilized enough to know that some people should not be killed but protected. We cannot have unrestricted unrestrained competition, because unrestricted total war all the time would be hell on earth. Whether or not I have kids or you have kids, whether or not I live a long life or a short life, my only concern would be to live a good life at anybody elses expense and at the cost of anyone elses life. Thats the fast life, and the fast life has no purpose beyond immediate enjoyment and taking advantage of every moment.

The problem with the fast life is that if you do have kids, they'll have nothing but a fast life too, and the lifespan will be what? 30?40? We will essentially be cavemen. So we need compassion if we are going to evolve as a species into something more advanced than ape.

 

Any emotion is a strength or a weakness depending entirely on how it's channeled. Emotions are energy sources, and they serve a purpose, but they aren't the end in itself.

Compassion should be reserved for those who deserve. If they don't do anything to earn compassion from you, if they treat everyone like shit, if they are disloyal, if they are your enemy, then no you don't need to care about their fate.

Have compassion for the people who matter to you. Love the people who matter to you.

 

A lack of compassion is sort of giving away your own personal right to benefit from society as well. Eventually, as we do with all really selfish people, we leave them to their own devices and off to fend for themselves.

That sums it up perfectly.