Can We Revive Empathy in Our Selfish World?

[Independent voter]

About three years ago, Jeremy and I, along with our students Fernanda Herrera and Erika Weisz, decided to find out. We designed a VR experience to help Bay Area residents see their homeless neighbors in a new light. Using an Oculus Rift, viewers explored scenes that told the story of one person’s descent into homelessness. A viewer first “wakes up” in his apartment, facing eviction, and is asked to take inventory of furniture he can sell to keep afloat. That fails, and the viewer finds himself living in his car. A police officer catches him staying there illegally and impounds the vehicle, and the viewer ends up on Hotel 22. In this last scene, he can also learn about his fellow passengers. If he “clicks” on the father and son next to him, a narrator explains, “This is a father, Ray, and his son, named Ethan. Ethan’s mother suffered from a chronic illness and recently passed away. Left with the hospital bills, Ray is in debt. They’re on a family shelter waiting list. So until free spaces become available, they sleep on the bus at night.”

http://nautil.us/issue/72/quandary/c...-selfish-world

Psychology professor writes VR program that simulates homelessness. Says it increases the compassion of players towards the homeless.

Do you think VR can increase compassion towards groups of people? Would it increase your compassion?

[Ghostpanther]

Psychology professor writes VR program that simulates homelessness. Says it increases the compassion of players towards the homeless.

Do you think VR can increase compassion towards groups of people? Would it increase your compassion?

All I can say is, I do not need it to feel compassion or also to see laziness and lack of self motivation in people.

[zenkai]

Psychology professor writes VR program that simulates homelessness. Says it increases the compassion of players towards the homeless.

Do you think VR can increase compassion towards groups of people? Would it increase your compassion?

The amount of stories I see of people helping people on the internet and the gofund me stories think there is plenty of compassion to be had. The problem is all this shitheads who take advantage of peoples compassion. Like the married couple and the homeless guy that suckered people with a bullshit story.

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All I can say is, I do not need it to feel compassion or also to see laziness and lack of self motivation in people.

Sad thing is a lot of people who are lazy aren't on the streets, they're living on welfare like my friend who does nothing but plays video games and watches TV all day. Homeless are probably mostly crazies and drug addicts.

[Unholyground]

All I can say is, I do not need it to feel compassion or also to see laziness and lack of self motivation in people.

Some people are better off just doing their own thing and not contributing to society. People who do not want to work I would not want to force them to work because one main reason. I do not want someone in charge of something that could potentially end up hurting someone because of their lack of caring to be doing that job.

[P for Pancetta]

Better go back to the old times when the Mongolian hordes descended down into China and burned down their cities to the point the human fat flowed through the street like water after a rainy day...

[Depakote]

In the USA? No probably not. That selfish mentality is too rooted in who we are in society unfortunately.

[Chonar]

CWREOSW ?
Thats a pretty poor abbreviation.

Neat article though. But personally I feel like instead of trying to "cure" people of their selfishness and greed, I prefer to just live by example and be the change I want to see in the world. You can too!
Just dont be a dick about it, and dont get taken advantage of.

[Ghostpanther]

The amount of stories I see of people helping people on the internet and the gofund me stories think there is plenty of compassion to be had. The problem is all this shitheads who take advantage of peoples compassion. Like the married couple and the homeless guy that suckered people with a bullshit story.

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Sad thing is a lot of people who are lazy aren't on the streets, they're living on welfare like my friend who does nothing but plays video games and watches TV all day. Homeless are probably mostly crazies and drug addicts.

Yeah I agree. My uncle was a alcoholic and he lived primarily on sucking off other people. Esp. his brother, who use to bail him out of jail all the time. Then he lived with his mother also. I do think some of them do not want a different life however. As they are comfortable with their life style which gives them a lot less reason to be motivated. I call it laziness because being motivated to make good changes in your life does require some work.

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Some people are better off just doing their own thing and not contributing to society. People who do not want to work I would not want to force them to work because one main reason. I do not want someone in charge of something that could potentially end up hurting someone because of their lack of caring to be doing that job.

If you are working and paying taxes then you are contributing. If you want to do more, you still have that option.

[zenkai]

Yeah I agree. My uncle was a alcoholic and he lived primarily on sucking off other people. Esp. his brother, who use to bail him out of jail all the time. Then he lived with his mother also. I do think some of them do not want a different life however. As they are comfortable with their life style which gives them a lot less reason to be motivated. I call it laziness because being motivated to make good changes in your life does require some work.

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If you are working and paying taxes then you are contributing. If you want to do more, you still have that option.

Good point

[Daedius]

Some people are better off just doing their own thing and not contributing to society. People who do not want to work I would not want to force them to work because one main reason. I do not want someone in charge of something that could potentially end up hurting someone because of their lack of caring to be doing that job.

Get lazy ass welfare freeloaders that are well able bodied to do community services... even if it's a few hours a week, cleaning up the town and what not.

[NihilSustinet]

Psychology professor writes VR program that simulates homelessness. Says it increases the compassion of players towards the homeless.

Do you think VR can increase compassion towards groups of people? Would it increase your compassion?

"revive" empathy? do you really think the world had more empathy at any point before right now? it may not seem this way to you, but the world is currently the most peaceful that it's ever been in human history. we still have a ways to go, but things are slowly getting better.

[Unholyground]

Get lazy ass welfare freeloaders that are well able bodied to do community services... even if it's a few hours a week, cleaning up the town and what not.

That can work too but I think corporations should not be allowed to have have tax shelters and should be forced to put back into the communities that built them up and allow them to thrive which would show good faith to all those who helped put them where they are. As it sits now corporations have more rights than individual people.

[Skroe]

Consider Empathy Revived.

[NihilSustinet]

That can work too but I think corporations should not be allowed to have have tax shelters and should be forced to put back into the communities that built them up and allow them to thrive which would show good faith to all those who helped put them where they are. As it sits now corporations have more rights than individual people.

pretty much this. there is currently enough money in the american economy to take care of every citizen, whether they need it or not. allowing huge sums of money to sit in corporate bank accounts doing nothing for no one is immoral. i see no reason why they should give the majority of the money back to the society that they got it from. UBI, single payer, and rent control would cut administrative costs and make sure everyone can live a decent life.

[Unholyground]

pretty much this. there is currently enough money in the american economy to take care of every citizen, whether they need it or not. allowing huge sums of money to sit in corporate bank accounts doing nothing for no one is immoral. i see no reason why they should give the majority of the money back to the society that they got it from. UBI, single payer, and rent control would cut administrative costs and make sure everyone can live a decent life.

Exactly, but a lot of people are brainwashed to think that is bad even though they will never be rich in their lifetime but are trained to think they could be if they just work their lives away.

[Kokolums]

trust has collapsed. youd have to fix that first.

[zenkai]

pretty much this. there is currently enough money in the american economy to take care of every citizen, whether they need it or not. allowing huge sums of money to sit in corporate bank accounts doing nothing for no one is immoral. i see no reason why they should give the majority of the money back to the society that they got it from. UBI, single payer, and rent control would cut administrative costs and make sure everyone can live a decent life.

How much do you think it cost to take care of one person?

[ParanoiD84]

Too many people on this planet to give a damn about randoms.

[urasim]

Do people really think empathy is our problem in society? Really? We all have an adequate amount of empathy.

[Independent voter]

If you can use VR to get people to have more empathy for groups like the homeless, you could use VR maliciously too, to get people to hate certain groups.