Emotion, Compassion, the Ethics of Care

I found the readings about people with an absence of emotion fascinating. I have always wondered why it is possible for people to commit such horrible crimes and have no remorse. "This inability to feel their victims' pain allows them to tell themselves lies that encourage their crime" (pg. 413). This quote in the anthology explains how this is possible. Molestors, rapists, and other criminals tell themselves lies in order to condone their actions. The absence of compassion and sympathy is something that most people have a hard time understanding. Compassion is described as, "The feeling or emotion, when a person is moved by the suffering or distress of another, and by the desire to relieve it; pity that inclines one to spare or to succour" (399). Most of us experience compassion quite often in our daily life. Watching a movie, reading a book or even hearing someone retell a story of a tragic event can all stir up compassion in our hearts. I was also interested in the readings about alexithymia, the inability to feel emotions. People with alexithymia, "lack words for their feelings. Indeed, they seem to lack feelings all together, although this may be from their inability to express emotion rather than from an absence of emotion altogether" (409). All I could think about while reading this is how frustrating that must be. Not only for the person with the disorder but for their friends and family as well. We can see this through the story of Gary and Ellen. She was so frustrated with him that she had to send him to therapy. In therapy he tried to express his emotions but found he was confused by them and could not put them into words. Emotion is such an important thing in our world. However, there are people with the inability to express emotion properly and even people, some criminals, who feel no remorse or compassion at all.