Compassion is ‘a concern for the suffering of others and the resulting action to alleviate or avoid their suffering’. This definition of compassion still leaves ample room for interpretation: What is ‘suffering’, who are the ‘others’ that we should be concerned about, and what ‘action’ is appropriate to alleviate their suffering? There is no universal answer to these questions because any answer will be informed by values as well as practical considerations. That is why it is crucial that we have constructive and ongoing debates about these questions.
In order to clarify what type of compassion one advocates, it can be helpful to be aware of some of the distinctions that can be made in approaching this concept.
In his 2014 book Moving Toward Global Compassion, Paul Ekman distinguishes between different types of compassion. He suggests that there are different ways in which we can analyze and frame concepts of compassion.
1. The timeframe of one’s concern: is compassion concerned with present suffering or with future suffering?
- Proximal compassion is concerned with alleviating suffering felt right now.
- Distal compassion is concerned with avoiding suffering in the future.
2. The target or scope of one’s concern: does compassion extend to those who are close to us, all people regardless of race or nationality or even all living beings? Note that these different types of compassion lie on a continuum without sharp borders.
- Familial compassion is the caring that parents exhibit towards their children. Ekman considers the receiving of such care to be an important source of the child’s own development of compassion.
- Familiars compassion is a concern for people who are familiar to oneself.
- Stranger compassion is a concern for people who are not familiar to oneself, such as those that are not part of one’s own family or social group.
- Global compassion is a concern for all people and is a central concern in that person’s life. This is the type of compassion that Ekman himself advocates.
- Sentient compassion is a concern for all living beings, including non-human animals.
3. The centrality that compassion takes in one’s life and the extent to which one is willing to sacrifice one’s own well-being for others. We have already seen global compassion as a type of compassion that is defined as central in a person’s life. An extreme case is heroic compassion.
- Heroic compassion is when one’s concern for others goes so far that you put your own welfare at risk, such as in a rescue effort. It can be ‘impulsive’ or ‘considered’.
Heroic compassion is defined by the level of commitment of the person that exhibits compassion. In that sense, heroic compassion is related to the notion of altruism (altruism is not part of Ekman’s typology).
- Altruism is unselfish or selfless behavior that promotes the welfare of others. In some cases, this may mean that the behavior has some cost to the individual who practices it. As the online dictionary of the American Psychological Association (APA) points out, “the degree to which such [altruistic] behaviors are legitimately without egoistic motivation is subject to debate”.
Kristen Renwick Monroe has studied cases of heroic compassion through surveys and in-depth interviews. According to her analysis, people differ in the extent of their ethical perspective, with those exhibiting heroic compassion occupying one extreme of a continuum. These people shared a view of the world in which they saw themselves as being connected to others through their common humanity. She calls this the ‘altruistic perspective’. From this perspective, not saving someone in need is simply not an option.
4. The particular emphasis that someone brings to their definition of compassion: for example, do they emphasize its relationship to empathy or its relationship to action?
- Empathy: A definition of compassion may emphasize its relationship to emotional empathy or identical emotional resonance. Someone with this definition would advocate ‘empathic compassion’.
- Action: A definition of compassion may emphasize the actions that attempt to relieve the suffering. Someone with this definition would advocate ‘action compassion’.
- Concern: A definition of compassion may emphasize the person’s motivation to alleviate suffering, namely their concern for the person who is suffering. Someone with this definition would advocate ‘concerned compassion’.
- Aspiration: A definition of compassion may emphasize that compassion is an ideal that one can aspire towards through cultivation and practice. Someone with this definition would advocate ‘aspirational compassion’.
One type of compassion that does not fit into Ekman’s typology, but which is introduced here for balance, is the notion of self-compassion, that is compassion directed towards oneself.
- Self-compassion is a friendly and non-judgmental concern for one’s own suffering, failures or inadequacies. It can be an important source of healing.
- Self-acceptance is a recognition of one’s abilities and achievements, together with an acknowledgement of one’s limitations. According to Christophe André, viewing oneself objectively in this way is an important aspect of developing a healthy self-esteem and of personal growth.
- Self-care refers to activities that maintain one’s own well-being.
There is much overlap between the notions of self-compassion and self-acceptance. But whereas the term ‘self-compassion’ emphasizes a caring attitude towards specific actions or outcomes that are perceived as failures, the term ‘self-acceptance’ emphasizes the importance of maintaining a balanced view of one’s abilities and limitations. Cultivating the attitudes of self-compassion and self-acceptance can be important aspects of self-care. And self-care and remaining healthy in turn are important prerequisites to effectively and sustainably practicing compassion because they help to prevent burnout.
References (in order of recommendation for further exploration about the topics covered)
- Ekman, Paul (2014) Moving Toward Global Compassion. Paul Ekman Group.
- Monroe, Kristen Renwick (2010) ‘The Roots of Moral Courage’, available online at: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/roots_of_moral_courage/
- André, Christophe (2006) Imparfaits, libres et heureux. Pratique de l’estime de soi. O. Jacob. *I have only read the Japanese translation by Takano Yu (2008): 「自己評価メソッドー自分とうまくつきあうための心理学」 紀伊國屋書店
Go back to the Lexicon of Compassion
The Lexicon of Empathy – by Pascal Wenz-Kim (2024)