Compassion fails when sufferers are collectivities rather than visible individuals

Evidence

The psychological re-creation of suffering—the essential vehicle of compassion and tenderness—fails easily if the sufferer is not a namable or visible individual but only a totality, which has no subjective states of mind, so to speak. It has been noted that English communal life has been characterized, throughout its history, by extraordinary justice toward persons and by equally great injustice toward groups. In view of the strong feeling for individual rights, it is only this second psychological peculiarity which accounts for the manner in which Dissenters, Jews, Irishmen, Hindus, and, in earlier periods, Scotchmen, have been treated. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 344 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

In a widely cited experiment, Slovic showed that potential donors gave more money to aid an identified child — “Rokia, a seven-year-old girl from Mali” — than to the abstract problem of food insecurity in Africa affecting millions of children. When the information about Rokia was combined with statistical information about the scale of the problem, donations actually decreased. More information produced less response. — , The Rod and the Child, 8725 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Compassion fails when suffering lacks a visible individual face — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 344; Adding scale statistics to a single identifiable case reduces compassion and giving — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 8725; National hero status can diminish rather than capture a victim’s full humanity (+4 more)

Related

• Compassion fails when suffering lacks a visible individual face (similarity 0.91)
• Compassion fails when sufferers are nameless collectives rather than visible individuals. (similarity 0.88)
• Adding scale statistics to a single identifiable case reduces compassion and giving (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Compassion fails when suffering lacks a visible individual face #corroborates (0.95) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 344
• Adding scale statistics to a single identifiable case reduces compassion and giving #corroborates (0.90) — , The Rod and the Child, 8725
• National hero status can diminish rather than capture a victim’s full humanity #exemplifies (0.85)