Opinion: 'evidence overwhelmingly affirms that the development of empathy is essential to healthy, social and emotional functioning'
By Cillian Murphy and Pat Dolan, University of Galway.
Christmas will be particularly poignant for many of us this year, not just in Ireland but around the world. As we move away with some relief from the restricted Christmases of recent years to a freedom to socially mix and celebrate the season, we also need to think of the plight of others.
We are conscious that this Christmas will be particularly hard for many: those who of us lost loved ones during Covid, our new Ukrainian community celebrating their first Christmas away from their homeland, the staggering number of children and families now homeless and many other groups in dire need.
With the rapidly changing world and ever-surprising challenges we now face, perhaps we should consider a further personal 'epiphany' in relation to what really matters in our lives and our relationships. We suggest that empathy awareness, education and development is core to this proposed epiphany, at both an individual and collective level.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor Show, actor Cillian Murphy and Prof Pat Dolan talk about their 10 years working together on youth research and empathy projects and their new book Ionbhá, The Empathy Book for Ireland
Evidence overwhelmingly affirms that the development of empathy is essential to healthy, social and emotional functioning. Across a range of disciplines, research has conclusively shown that the presence of empathy is related to positive academic, social, psychological, and personal developmental outcomes. Where levels of empathy are compromised, studies have found an increased propensity to engage in anti-social behaviour, such as bullying, aggression and offending behaviour.
Other evidence suggests that lower social empathy appears to be associated with higher levels of interpersonal and psychological difficulties. The good news is that empathy and compassion is a practice (we don’t have to be perfect) that can be learned at any stage in life and a common denominator for humanity, and it is there for us all. It is really all about not just walking in the others shoes and trying ‘to feel what they feel’ but seeking to understand and connect. So we would argue that for the good and future of Irish society a social empathy revolution is needed and can start with the education of, with, by, and for youth.
We now know empathy and social connectedness promote greater life satisfaction and self-confidence among adolescents, as well as greater resilience to mental health problems. It is also a deterrent to engagement in anti-social acts and as an enabler to humanity. We also know from neuroscience that empathy is not a "fixed given" at birth nor is it "static", but can actually be grown or activated in the brain particularly during adolescence – so you can learn to empathise during the teen years and at any stage of your life course.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, Prof Pat Dolan on why there should be empathy classes in schools
Most importantly, by enabling social empathy education in schools and community settings, you can reduce rates of hatred and instances of physical attack and mental harm targeted at others being profiled for all the wrong negative mythical reasons. With empathy education, you are therefore more likely to have a set of active citizens who will respond and intervene for and on behalf of those who are being victimised or excluded.
Current research at the UNESCO Child and Family Centre at the University of Galway and UNESCO HQ Paris is focusing on gaining new knowledge on the nature of empathy and its use as a pedagogical tool for schools and community youth work organisations, the latter in collaboration with Foróige.
As part of this initiative, Ionbhá: The Empathy Book for Ireland, has been published to support the project. It's a book of over 80 essays, prose and poetry reflections on empathy from both famous and everyday citizens and reminds us that acts of kindness and compassion, no matter how big or small, have massive impact.
We may not always be aware that compassion deeply affects people and communities, and it reverberates long after we act. But empathy goes beyond simple ‘feel good’ moments. It is a core element of wisdom and a universal language of the soul. It brings joy to the everyday, making the unbearable, bearable.
Our world is changing very fast and this is not just an opportune time to catch up in terms of the provision of better ‘person centred’ education, but a defining chance for Ireland to be one of the forerunners in compassion development- It’s up to us all really. Let’s give empathy for Christmas and all year long!
Ionbhá: The Empathy Book for Ireland is edited by Cillian Murphy, Pat Dolan, Gillian Browne and Mark Brennan and published by Mercier Press. All proceeds go to the Activating Social Empathy schools and community education programme. The project and book are supported by the Irish American Partnership
Cillian Murphy is an actor and patron of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at the University of Galway. Prof Pat Dolan is UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement at the University of Galway.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
