Empathy, Democracy & Justice: Reassessing the Political Roles of Empathy
Daniel Sharp and Katharina Anna Sodoma
University Place 5.212 (hybrid)
Empathy—understood broadly as the capacity to recreate another person’s perspective in imagination—has seemed to some political theorists to hold considerable political promise. In democratic theory, scholars have argued that democracy is epistemically valuable because it promotes empathetic understanding, that empathy is integral to well-functioning democratic deliberation, and that empathy can counter polarization. Philosophers have also argued that empathy is important in the construction of adequate principles of justice and that empathy with the oppressed can help us understand and address injustices. Yet, empathy’s political value is also subject to formidable critiques. Philosophers emphasize that there are a variety of ways in which our capacities for empathy are limited. We are vulnerable to in-group bias, and so can struggle to empathize with those different from ourselves. Empathy can be distorting, as we sometimes erroneously project our own views onto others. These worries have led some to argue that we should avoid relying on our capacities for empathy in democratic politics. Determining what role (if any) empathy ought to play in political life requires attending carefully to the nature and limits of our empathetic capacities. This workshop aims to bring together scholars working on empathy from different perspectives to explore the promise and perils of empathy in democratic politics.
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Wednesday 7th September
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11:00-12:30
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Registration
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12:30-13:30
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Lunch
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13:30-14:00
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Welcome Speech
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14:00-16:00
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Session 1
Katharina Anna Sodoma & Daniel Sharp (In Person): Democratic Empathy and Affective Polarization
Christiana Werner (In Person): Empathy with the Minority?
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16:00-16:30
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Tea and Coffee Break
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16:30-17:30
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Session 1 (continued)
Thomas Schramme (In Person): Empathy versus Deliberation in Democracy?
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17:45-19:00
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Wine Reception
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19:30
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Conference Dinner
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Thursday 8th September
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9:30-11:30
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Session 2
Diogo Rodrigues Carneiro (In Person): Evaluating Reasons and Claims of Justice: The Normative Importance of Empathic Perspective-Taking
Thijs Heijmeskamp (In Person): Jane Addams and Empathy as a Method for Democracy
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11:30-12:00
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Tea and Coffee Break
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12:00-13:00
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Session 2 (continued)
Hiroko Taguchi (Virtual): Extending Empathy’s Reach in Democratic Society
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13:00-14:00
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Lunch
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14:00-16:00
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Session 3
Hannah Reed (Virtual): Empathy, Social Justice, and Political Understanding
Alexander Prescott-Couch (Virtual): Two Kinds of Political Understanding
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16:00-16:30
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Tea and Coffee Break
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16:30-17:30
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Session 3 (continued)
Deb Marber (Virtual): The Problem of Empathic Resistance
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18:00
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Informal Dinner for In-Person Participants
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Friday 9th September
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9:30-11:30
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Session 4
Zsolt Kristóf Kapelner (In Person): Denying Empathy to Political Adversaries
Anne Jeffrey (In Person): Loving Your Enemy in Devolving Democracy
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11:30-12:00
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Tea and Coffee Break
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12:00-13:00
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Session 4 (continued)
Yang-Yang Chen (In Person): Care to Deliberate and Deliberate to Care
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13:00-14:00
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Lunch
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14:00-16:00
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Session 5
Mary F. Scudder (In Person): Empathy: What is it Good for?
Michael E. Morrell (Virtual): In Defense of Empathy
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16:00-16:30
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Tea and Coffee Break
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16:30-17:30
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Session 5 (continued)
Olivia Bailey (Virtual): Empathy and Extremism
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17:30
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End of Conference
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