The screenplay for the movie Blade Runner was based on the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, a science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. In the book, more so than the movie, there is an emphasis on empathy as a major characteristic that distinguished the human from the android population. In fact, there was a machine that tested a person’s capability for empathy.

I wonder how well we would do with that test today. It seems that, on the whole, our ability to empathize with others has seriously diminished.

The other day I heard someone remark that when the Philippines gets about 28 typhoons a year why was everyone making such a big deal about the past two (which, as we know, devastated parts of the country). I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Is this what we have come to?

In raising the last few generations nurturing self-esteem has trumped the lessons that might have been learned from competition and critique. Self-centeredness flourished. Yes, we need to believe in ourselves – but we also need to be able to look beyond ourselves and consider the needs and feelings of others.

Are we teaching our children the importance of empathy?

One teacher in Japan has made it a priority and watching him in action is inspiring. In the award-winning documentary Children Full of Life (linked here and for sale here), a fourth-grade class learn lessons about compassion from their homeroom teacher, Toshiro Kanamori. By sharing their lives, the children begin to realize the importance of caring for their classmates.

We are social creatures above all. We need the comfort of human interaction and compassion. If we are incapable of empathy what kind of future is there for us?