ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter, I discussed how empathy, moral and spiritual values, and self-interest can motivate people from privileged groups to support social justice efforts. This chapter will focus on how these sources of motivation can be developed in our educational and social change work. In the first part of the chapter, I describe how to foster and appeal to empathy, moral and spiritual values, and self-interest in order to engage people in actions that advance equity and social justice. At the end of the chapter, I discuss the importance of providing positive alternatives to our current system.
To increase people’s empathy, both their intellect and emotions need to be engaged. In general, to foster empathy, individuals need to maximize their personal knowledge of and heighten their emotional attunement to others. By imagining someone else’s point of view and feelings, they can better understand another’s situation. In order to minimize emotional and physical distance and the anonymity of others, which impede empathy, it is helpful if people actually get to know real individuals and experience their life circumstances. There are many strategies we can use to increase the empathy of people from privileged groups toward people from oppressed groups. Some of these are discussed next.
