Ok, here goes my first question for the English majors out there. Hope I’m clear.
If somebody says they have respect for a live fish by killing it quickly after catching it, and before putting it in a cooler of ice, is that proper use of the word “respect”?
I’m having trouble with the concept of using the word “respect” in the same sentence as killing something. Maybe it’s a stretch to call it respect, but I believe that’d be a really big stretch.
Whether you think it’s proper usage or not, please explain why to either.
I can think of many other words also, but I’m looking to get an “official” thesis of sorts on using the word “respect” as it relates to killing a fish as soon after catching it as possible.
In one sense, I believe respect is an attitude of acknowledgement, and I fail to see what’s being acknowledged in this case.
For instance, as it relates to humans (which respect usually does), one can respect Grandma’s wishes not to be left on life support. In acknowledgement of her wishes, one can respect what she wants and pull the plug. I just don’t see the same as it relates to killing a fish.
“Empathy” doesn’t work here, because it would mean that the person can share the feelings of the fish getting a hook stuck in his lip, and being yanked forcibly out of the water and into an environment where it can’t breathe. So far I’ve never heard of a person who’s been through that and knows what it feels like, so no person can have empathy for the fish in that situation.
The Oxford American Dictionary gives, as one definition of “respect”: “due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others”. Based on this definition, the person is showing respect for the fish by showing due regard for its feelings. However, I don’t find this definition of “respect” in other dictionaries, such as the Merriam-Webster.
I would say that the person kills the fish out of compassion or out of mercy.
“Empathy” doesn’t work here, because it would mean that the person can share the feelings of the fish getting a hook stuck in his lip, and being yanked forcibly out of the water and into an environment where it can’t breathe. So far I’ve never heard of a person who’s been through that and knows what it feels like, so no person can have empathy for the fish in that situation.
Something fishy about your reply, I’d say. BTW, I was once a mermaid.
To have empathy, you have to be capable of sharing the feeling someone else is having. There are certain situations that animals can be in that humans cannot imagine, and so they can’t share the animal’s feelings. In that case, the person can only have sympathy, but not empathy.
Maybe not the exact situation, but some of us have been in similar situations. Maybe not people like you - I don’t know. Maybe not those who have always been in the comfort zone of life. Believe me, as a Nigerian, I’ve experienced situations which were pretty close to those experienced by some animals. In the end though, it’s the human being who is using the word “empathise”, and it is also he/she who imagines what the suffering of the animal in question is like. It’s subjective, Jamie. Logic flies out the window in certain situations.
If a person says to one “I can imagine so and so…” how can one have the audacity to say “No, you can’t”? If you tell me that you can empathise with my ancestors who were hunted down and taken to the USA, should I tell you it’s impossible for you to do so?
Jamie, have you watched “American Dad” ? There’s a fish named Klaus who used to be a man till he was turned to a mere fish (more precisely, his brain was swapped with that of a goldfish), which can speak English with a German accent.
Too many sympathisers, and not enough empathisers, in this world, innit?
My question was: can people have empathy regarding animals?
Anyway, as a reference point for all:
Sympathy, compassion, pity, empathy all denote the tendency, practice, or capacity to share in the feelings of others, especially their distress, sorrow, or unfulfilled desires. Sympathy is the broadest of these terms, signifying a general kinship with another’s feelings, no matter of what kind: in sympathy with her yearning for peace and freedom; to extend sympathy to the bereaved. Compassion implies a deep sympathy for the sorrows or troubles of another coupled to a powerful urge to alleviate the pain or distress or to remove its source: to show compassion for homeless refugees. Pity usually suggests a kindly, but sometimes condescending, sorrow aroused by the suffering or ill fortune of others, often leading to a show of mercy: tears of pity for war casualties; to have pity on a thief driven by hunger. Empathy most often refers to a vicarious participation in the emotions, ideas, or opinions of others, the ability to imagine oneself in the condition or predicament of another: empathy with those striving to improve their lives; to feel empathy with Hamlet as one watches the play.
Why not? In the United States whites are constantly told by blacks that they can’t understand how a black person can feel about anything, because they’ve never been black. In fact, it’s almost a journalistic taboo in the US to quote a white person explaining what he thinks a black person feels, but not the other way around. The people who constantly say, “You can’t understand, because you’re not black,” don’t have any qualms about explaining (often inaccurately) what white people think, even though they’ve never been white.
As for people being hunted down, don’t forget that a lot of the slaves brought to the New World were already slaves held by blacks and Arabs in Africa and were simply sold to the Europeans. There’s still slavery in West Africa, and here in the US, the police occasionally have to free some African girl or other who is being held as a slave in the home of a wealthy African family.
Not sure I understand the point of this passage: “Why not? In the United States whites are constantly told by blacks…”. I was asking if you thought it’s OK to deny another person’s sympathy/empathy. Is sit?
There’s still slavery in West Africa, and here in the US, the police occasionally have to free some African girl or other who is being held as a slave in the home of a wealthy African family.
Not exactly sure what this has to do with the anything here:
In other words, if you were of Nigerian ancestry, and had not been born in the USA, it would be unlikely that your ancestors had been taken to the USA.
How was Angwe affected by the slave trade, out of interest?
