Paper Example on Virtue of Compassion

Introduction

Aristotle once said that virtue is what makes its possessor good, and his work good likewise. Virtues are behaviours of moral fibre refined through practice and results in the actions that are indispensable for a person to flourish (Bein, 2013). Compassion is a virtue that is a necessary trait in all the personal circumstances. It merely refers to an individual's concern and regrets the suffering of other people. The opposite of compassion is cruelty. Compassion almost has the same meaning with love, and the two go concurrently (van Dierendonck, & Patterson, 2015). Compassion is also a way of thinking that in most cases that leads to an unprompted readiness to take action for other people to benefit. It is also an emotion directed to the suffering of another person or lack of well-being. Compassion requires the thinking that an individual is in a sad state. It, therefore, means that compassion involves the evaluation of the three forms of making judgments.

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Forms of Judgment of Compassion

These include the judgment of seriousness, judgment of similar possibilities and eudemonistic judgment (Neff, 2016).

Judgment of Seriousness

According to Neff (2016), the judgment of seriousness focuses on the severity of the dilemma in which people can find themselves in. Generally, this seriousness is usually in a wrong way. The judgment of seriousness also has a close link with moral judgment s which states the belief and desire or feeling of an individual towards something.

The judgment of Similar Possibilities

Philosophers such as Aristotle and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, among other philosophers, suggested that humans have compassion and hold the opinion that when a person is suffering, the individual share vulnerabilities and potential with others. As a result, judgment of similar possibilities is not specifically essential for the emotion. Humans feel compassion for inanimate objects without basing it on any form of similarity. In this regard, human beings feel compassion for creatures that they have nothing in common (Neff, 2016). We can, therefore, feel compassion, even for strangers that we have never met before.

Eudemonistic Judgment

It is a form of judgment that puts much priority in the suffering of a person or people at the aspect of other most essential parts of the life of the individual who feels the emotion. An analysis of emotions focusses on the most important goals, objectives, and projections. It means that compassion may enclose within itself a judgment that focuses on what is right for suffering individuals and the judgment of what is appropriate. These take place without s denying them their truthfulness, self-respect, independence and other related emotions (Neff, 2016). In this case, compassion contains the desire towards a eudemonia conclusion.

The Question of Character

The fact that compassion is a trait that must flow from intentions if it is to mean entirely depends on the question of character. Some notable critics have contributed to the understanding of compassion as a virtue. Compassion has its roots in an individual's personality. Some of these proponents argue that compassion comprises of numerous component processes. These include the generation of affective feelings that people develop towards each other. Others are opinions and generalizations concerning other people's mental states and empathy of the suffering of a different person that one relates to himself/herself.

According to Poulin et al., (2013), compassion training has successfully increased the altruistic circulation of funds to a victim that has experienced outside the training perspective. Based on this, it means that through training, individuals can develop feelings of compassion which always implies the understanding of other people's suffering, executive and emotional control, and processing of rewards.

Compassion as a virtue has a close link to the roots of compassionate behaviour that cognitively run deep into the psychological and the neuron system of people. The virtue of compassion can, therefore, be cultivated in an individual through constant training and teaching to flow from intentions as if to mean.

The Benefits of Compassion

A character trait should stream from intentions if it is to mean. It means that compassion can help people live prosperous lives. Compassion therefore as a virtue, has many benefits in a person's life if it is flowing from intentions. Boellinghaus, Jones, and Hutton, (2014) note that compassionate relations have been proven to help people maintain a good physical and mental health. Compassion, therefore, promotes healthy living. For instance, some people believe that the act of giving charity is more pleasurable because it makes people feel right about them and appreciate themselves. It is for this reasons that organizations always organize the corporate social responsibility events to give back to the society. It is an act of compassion that these offer to the community.

Compassion also possesses the ability of people to change the world. It depends on the level of compassion and a person's intention. For instance, when we watch other people who act compassionately or take some self-denial and self-sacrifice for the greater good, we get inspired to do the same. Compassion, therefore, is transmittable. In this way, acts of compassion, generosity, and kindness have potential to cause chain reactions.

As a result, compassion can build the well being and quality of people's social relationships. Compassion makes people develop and maintain confidence. Being compassionate also helps people to be open minded and offers people with an enormous potential to love others and the world in general. These are some of the severe attributes of prosperities that people can intentionally use to improve their lives

Virtues and Compassion

In reality, compassion is not a new virtue s in ethics. Many people employ it with a kind of wide-eyed excitement which might sometimes suggest that they had discovered it. Compassion as a virtue appears in many sacred books of religion and also philosophical texts as a sub-category of virtues as a branch of ethics.

As a virtue, Bein (2013) notes that being compassionate means giving a chance for one's actions to be guided by love, but this love is not in the sense of romantic love. The virtue of compassion is a recognition and appreciation of the unique features of everything and everyone. It means practising patience. For example, if one meets a tired person who is stressed, afraid, depressed and frustrated, it is imperative to develop pity and sympathy and respond in kindness. Such people always react to situations violently, and it is important to approach such people with too much care and to be gentle with them. These are acts of compassion. In this regard, being compassionate encourages people to consider all the mitigating factors before reacting to situations.

Compassion as a virtue also means developing strategies for the establishment and enforcement of justice. It is a widespread misconception that compassion and justice are inherently opposed; meaning, decreasing one increase another (Bein, 2013). Compassion as a virtue requires a solid foundation of justice. Evil acts should not go free. The most compassionate thing to do to someone who commits wrong is to make them know the root of their wrongdoing.

References

Bein, S. (2013). Compassion and moral guidance. University of Hawai'i Press.Boellinghaus, I., Jones, F. W., & Hutton, J. (2014). The role of mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation in cultivating self-compassion and other-focused concern in healthcare professionals. Mindfulness, 5(2), 129-138.

Neff, K. D. (2016). Does self-compassion entail reduced self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification? A response to Muris, Otgaar, and Petrocchi (2016). Mindfulness, 7(3), 791-797.

Poulin, M. J., Brown, S. L., Dillard, A. J., & Smith, D. M. (2013). Giving to others and the association between stress and mortality. American Journal of Public Health. e-View Ahead of Print. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300876Van Dierendonck, D., & Patterson, K. (2015). Compassionate love as a cornerstone of servant leadership: An integration of previous theorizing and research. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(1), 119-131.