No empathy, no coexistence

Oh Se-jung
The author is an emeritus professor of physics and astronomy and former president of Seoul National University.

The general election is just one day away. An election is often described as a celebration of democracy. But voters seem to be more gloomy than joyful as they watch the upcoming election. Nomination processes of political parties have disturbed the voters, and campaigns are marred with nasty revelations and vulgar language. Candidates talking about their visions for the future are scarce as they instead highlight plans of retribution and retaliation for the past.

Perhaps this election will be remembered as the worst-ever in history, and the aftermath will be serious no matter the outcome. Furthermore, the conflict between the doctors’ community and the government over the plan to increase the admission quota of medical schools, which has continued for nearly two months, is exhausting everyone. Despite the meeting between the president and the leader of the trainee doctors last week, there seems to be a long way to go.

Politicians engaged in fierce battles to win National Assembly seats, and doctors confronting the government over the health care policy may have good intentions. But it is undeniable that their self-interest is the primary motivation. Of course, you cannot blame someone for trying to protect their own interests or their groups. According to the evolutionary theory, living organisms are inherently selfish and act only for their own reproduction.

Adam Smith, the founder of capitalist economics, argued in “The Wealth of Nations” that the interest of a society as a whole can be improved by an “invisible hand” even when individuals each pursue their self-interest. Smith says we can eat fresh bread every morning not because of the baker’s generosity but because of his selfishness to get wealthier.

Majority Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, left, and governing People Power Party interim leader Han Dong-hoon speak on March 28 ahead of the April 10 parliamentary elections. [NEWS1]

But in his other classic work, “The Theory of Moral Sentiments,” Smith also argued for the importance of human ability to empathize. “How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it except the pleasure of seeing it,” he wrote to begin the book.

In other words, we have selfishness, but we also have empathy, an ability to understand others and hope for their well-being, thus social bonds are created. Recently, evolutionary biologists have discovered that while our genes are innatetly selfish, animals that live in groups also have empathy for one another. This ability helps the group survive. One of the reasons why human beings have flourished more than other species is because of our ability to empathize with others.

And yet, it is worrisome that our society only shows selfishness while the ability to empathize with others has disappeared. Even if you have empathy, it only works with the people who have the same interests or think the same way. Toward the groups who have different thoughts, they show hostility. As a result, factionalism dominates our society and partisan politics grew stronger. Politics is supposed to be reconciling different interests to create the wisdom of coexistence, but instead, politics fuel hostility between factions and it is maximized through elections. If this continues, the community cannot be managed normally no matter who wins this election.

The conflict over the increase of the medical school admission quota is another example of the extreme lack of consideration and empathy in our society. After the government insisted on the plan to increase the quota by 2,000, trainee doctors abandoned their patients without any attempt to talk with the government. No matter how upset they were about the government’s rigid attitude, doctors could not have abandoned their patients so easily if they ever tried to put themselves in the patients’ shoes. Again, empathy failed to work.

It was fortunate that medical professors remained in the hospitals and prevented the worst catastrophe, but many patients and their families are anxiously watching to see what will happen next. If the professors also lose their empathy, the public trust in the medical community will plummet and the spirit of community will collapse.

In the past, respected elders of society have guided us in times of social turmoil or crisis. The late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan — who famously led the campaign that “I am to blame” — is a prime example. He taught the people to look at themselves first before blaming others whenever a social problem appeared. This is the spirit of walking in other people’s shoes and the spirit of empathy our society desperately needs now.

But our leaders are going in the opposite direction. While political leaders are demonizing their rivals, the government does not listen to opinions of the society. Representatives of medical communities still stick to their positions. If their actions lead to the collapse of our cherished community, I wonder how they will clean up all the mess and who will take responsibility.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.