'It's not a silly attitude': Four thinkers praise the virtues of kindness
Testimony: After long being a blind spot in thought, kindness is now being rehabilitated. We went to see what philosophers (and a writer who loves to philosophize) have to say about it.
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The great philosophical tradition does not consider kindness as a concept, preferring instead the study of empathy at the basis of social relations, that is to say the capacity to put oneself in the place of the other to understand their emotions and enter into resonance. Long perceived as naivety in the face of the strength of intelligence, or even as a handicapping weakness in a competitive society, it is only very recently, with the development of the ethics of "care" (care and concern for others), that it has finally extricated itself from this pessimistic vision of human nature, caricatured by the Hobbesian formula "man is a wolf to man" . Point of view of four intellectuals.
• Michael Fœssel, philosopher: “Kindness is moral, not political”"It's true that in the history of philosophy, we hardly ever talk about kindness. Christian-inspired thought focuses more on goodness. What is the difference between the two? I would say that kindness is a kindness that is undoubtedly less naive, less tender too. But both notions have deserted our minds and our conversations, just like their…
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