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How Do You Measure Compassion?

blü 2

Veteran Member
Premium Member
We live and percieve a world of dimensions; length, width, height and time. All these things are measurable.

My question is, how do you measure compassion? Does it exist if it isn't measurable?
If you think compassion is intention, we presently have no way of accurately quantifying it.

If you think compassion is deeds, then we have something firmer to go on.

Trouble is, once you quantify it, you bring out the competitiveness in us all ─ Miss Compassionate Universe and so on, with brass bands and big bucks. Doesn't sound right to me.

On the other hand, penalties for shop assistants and prison guards who underperform compassionwise ─ that might be useful.
 

ajay0

Well-Known Member
We live and percieve a world of dimensions; length, width, height and time. All these things are measurable.

My question is, how do you measure compassion? Does it exist if it isn't measurable?

Compassion is love for the stranger without motive, just as unconditional love is love for dear ones without motive.

If one adds motive to it, it becomes a sort of business and calculation is involved which is measurable.
 
We live and percieve a world of dimensions; length, width, height and time. All these things are measurable.

My question is, how do you measure compassion? Does it exist if it isn't measurable?

We do live in a 3D World and nature is scientifically always measurable but as it turns out, we humans, like the more fun part of quantum physics are really not that easy to be put in a metric system or overall be understood completely.
You can as well ask how do we measure any human emotion. In that regard, it would be dependent on the dosage of whatever drug in your brain has that purpose.
I really don't know how the brain makes compassion work, so you can measure it in relativity to other moments you feel compassionate.
Then you have something like: I feel more compassionate when I see a dog getting kicked then when a human is getting mugged.

Since measurement would be nothing without prediction, you can make some sort of internal value hierarchy, you should feel compassion after all when something happens that shouldn't happen, and some things shouldn't happen more than others
like you shouldn't break a plate, but genocide is much more of a nono

I kinda drifted of Summary: Ask some sort of psychologist if science knows what happen during compassionate moments or measure yourself via relativity
 

sandy whitelinger

Veteran Member
We do live in a 3D World and nature is scientifically always measurable but as it turns out, we humans, like the more fun part of quantum physics are really not that easy to be put in a metric system or overall be understood completely.
You can as well ask how do we measure any human emotion. In that regard, it would be dependent on the dosage of whatever drug in your brain has that purpose.
I really don't know how the brain makes compassion work, so you can measure it in relativity to other moments you feel compassionate.
Then you have something like: I feel more compassionate when I see a dog getting kicked then when a human is getting mugged.

Since measurement would be nothing without prediction, you can make some sort of internal value hierarchy, you should feel compassion after all when something happens that shouldn't happen, and some things shouldn't happen more than others
like you shouldn't break a plate, but genocide is much more of a nono

I kinda drifted of Summary: Ask some sort of psychologist if science knows what happen during compassionate moments or measure yourself via relativity
I think you got the gist of it. It's not quantifiable so it might then exist in another dimension.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
An analog: Just as current is measured in amperes,
compassion is measured in emperes (a unit of empathy).
 
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