Ethics vs Compassion vs Empathy – What’s the difference?

The Carnegie Council designates today, 18th Oct 2023, as Global Ethics Day.

On one hand, with all the problems happening in the world today, it seems that “ethics” (defined as the moral principles which govern a person’s behaviour) is a lost cause.

On the other hand, having to dedicate ONE day to be ethical or to teach ethics seems to be cute at best and a travesty at worst.

What about the rest of the 364 days?

If “being ethical” should be the very ground we stand on to conduct ourselves with people and with our companies/businesses, then ethics is certainly not a one-time thing or a one-day thing. It’s an all-day, all-time, everyday and every time thing.

In addition, when it comes to our interactions with people in our daily lives, we find that “compassion” and “empathy” are two words that are frequently used to guide our connections and responses.

Are 
”compassion” and “empathy” the same?

Yes; and no.

Compassion and empathy are related but distinct emotional responses:

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It involves putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and feeling what they feel. It’s about recognising and connecting with their emotions.

Compassion, on the other hand, goes beyond empathy. It involves not only understanding someone’s suffering but also having a strong desire to alleviate that suffering. Compassion motivates you to take action to help and support others.

In today’s day and age, compassion and empathy are rare commodities for two reasons:

1) We have problems of our own and we simply don’t have the capacity to look out for others

2) We allow the size of the problems on the outside to freeze us into inaction on the inside

Let’s reverse the tide starting today.

The best way to practice empathy and compassion is to “put yourself in someone else’s shoes.”

Understand their situation, lend a listening ear; extend a helping hand.

In summary, empathy is about understanding and sharing feelings, while compassion adds the element of a heartfelt desire to alleviate suffering. Having said that, both are important for building strong interpersonal relationships and promoting kindness in society.