Ethics of Altruism, Care, and Wounds: Philosophy for Reliving the "Self"

Why do people pass each other by? Why do feelings of consideration for others end up being in vain and sometimes hurt them? It is because we misjudge the hearts of others.

This book defines care as "valuing together what that other person values." It approaches the concept of care by shifting the concept of the other to "a subject whose values are different from my own."

The other, that is, the "person who is not me," is not like me. They do not feel as I feel, and they do not perceive the world in the same way I perceive it. They grasp the same event as a completely different event. Their hearts are different. That is why we misunderstand the hearts of others.

Why does such a thing happen? It is because the modern era is an era of diversity. In an era of diversity, the things each subject values are out of alignment. And when those precious things are lost or damaged, we are hurt. The memory of such wounds diversifies a person's patterns of behavior and perception. The environments in which we were raised are different, and our values are different. This means that the "things we value" and the "wounds" we carry are different for each individual.

In contrast, imagine the environment in which Homo sapiens lived tens of thousands of years ago. There, drinking water, food, play, or the land, the views on life and death and spiritual beliefs unique to that region, and various other "things valued" must have been shared within the community. In other words, unlike modern city dwellers, the things valued and the wounds carried would not have differed from person to person. Based on the claims of evolutionary biologist Robin Dunbar and surveys on the lifestyles of modern hunter-gatherers, the theory that former Homo sapiens lived in communities of several dozen people (at most about 150) is prominent. Our bodies and minds evolved to adapt to such an environment.

Civilization arose, urban life began, and the "other" was born. Then, we became unable to provide care effectively. This is a theory of care written from such an awareness of the problem. To reclaim care once again. To still perform care in an era of diversity.

Ethics of Altruism, Care, and Wounds: Philosophy for Reliving the "Self"

Yuta Chikauchi

Shobunsha

304 pages, 1,980 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.