This is a great question. I have traveled with some people who are simply collecting “merit badges”. In other words, just crossing places off their lists. Or just collecting photos or, worse IMO, selfies. These people are often not moved by scenes that awake Empathy in you or me.
Yet there are others in whom travel awakens deep empathy for other cultures and people.
I do think that travel has the potential to increase our ability to empathize with others, but some are so self centered they can’t get beyond their needs for attention or insecurities to appreciate what they have seen and experienced.
But my takeaway is Keep on Traveling! It can’t hurt and may help you break out of the self-centered shell in which you may be living.
Thank you David! I think the analogy of trips as "merit badges" is really apt. I hope we can find a way to encourage others to do less of that and learn to appreciate that the more important things to acquire while traveling aren't necessarily tangible. Feel like that's a big challenge for a material-centric culture and society. And absolutely keep on traveling. Thanks for engaging David!
"How is it possible for the same person to enjoy being immersed in other cultural settings and wax poetic about their travels on their travel blog about their wonderful encounters with other people abroad only to return home with scorn for their own culture and other people? Being critical of one’s own culture and society is completely valid and important in my view, but not to the extent that you lose your empathetic scruples."
This is the conundrum I face now. I have been critical of my country for over thirty years, but now, I am asking myself "why?" I find that travel makes me empathetic for those less fortunate in their country, yet when there is someone in a similar position in mine, I am much less empathetic. It is as if I know there are more opportunities where I come from and seem to lack the understanding many times that my good fortune has not been experienced by others in the U.S. for various reasons. I can walk in others' shoes in their country, but not in mine. I haven't worked through the answer quite yet.
I really appreciate your candidness here. I've shared that same feeling a lot too. As I get a little older I try to keep myself in check by reminding myself that life is incredibly complicated and so much of what dictates our behaviors and the things we value aren't ever entirely up to us. We don't get to choose where we're born, the people we're surrounded with, whether our community values things like quality nutrition or seeing the world. But I think maybe part of the answer to "why" is because those of us who've seen the inequalities of opportunities firsthand also see those who take them for granted and that contrast is upsetting. I think it stems from a good place because we want people to hold themselves to higher standards. As I'm reflecting on your words though, I'm finding I don't have it totally worked out either...Thanks for your sharing your thoughts. Cheers!
This is a nice idea! I like this format! I think that several ways of traveling can allow us to be more or less emphatic. I also think that we are very critical of our homeland in general, and the fact that emphasis on culture can be disconnected from the criticism we have at home. It can be because of the romance of traveling and also that traveling is not living in the country where you are, you will never live like a local and have the life that the locals have.
Empathy probably depends on the traveler and the type of traveling they do. Since I’ve lived in several countries, I’ve learned to make myself at home wherever I go which means leaning into the local culture as well as accepting many variations of living.
Totally agree. I think you have to probably have some prerequisites before traveling, a big one you hint at is being flexible and adaptable. If you're a rigid person, unwilling to change, you will likely find it hard to adjust and be empathetic to a new way of life. Thanks for the thoughts Rachel!
I think you're right. Rachel Shenk said something similar that I also liked, "Empathy probably depends on the traveler and the type of traveling they do."
I believe that the way we used to travel did indeed increase empathy. How could it have not? You had to rely on locals for your needs, for directions, for understanding where to go, what to do. And while doing so, you got to meet them, understand a way of life different from your own. But I also think it is the person who travels. In the old days, only those who were truly interested in other places and people would travel.
Now, everyone can travel, and everyone does, even if they have no desire to learn about a place, they go to places they read about for bragging rights, so they can say "yes, I've been there."
I knew someone once who was talking to big group of people about her experiences in Cancun, where she just returned from. They stayed in an all-inclusive resort, but she hated the fact that not everyone spoke English (this was years ago, unfortunately now everyone speaks English in the resorts). "Why would they?" I asked her. "Cancun is in Mexico". "Yes, but they need my money so if they want me to spend it there, they should speak my language", she said. I was speechless. It has never occurred to me that anyone would think that way. But now we have those kind of travelers. In their case, I don't think travel makes them more empathetic.
Yes, I think travel can make people more empathetic, but it all depends on what the traveler brings to the experience. If you take the time to talk to locals, tour guides, taxi drivers, people on the Metro, people you meet on the street, you will probably experience more empathy than some one on a cruise talking to other people from their own country and social status. But even without talking to people, just walking down the street you can see people enjoying their lives, their families, the places they live just like everyone else. People everywhere really want the same things.
"How is it possible for the same person to enjoy being immersed in other cultural settings and wax poetic about their travels on their travel blog about their wonderful encounters with other people abroad only to return home with scorn for their own culture and other people?"
I wonder if these people who have traveled abroad have spent time traveling in their own country. I wonder if they have bother to talk to those people they've scorned. I've done a lot of traveling in the US. I think it has made me more empathetic for people across the country. Driving through Montana looking at vast stretches of farmland it becomes apparent why those people have a disconnect with people in our tightly packed cities. Traveling for me and my husband is easy. It makes me more empathetic for the people who can not travel with such ease.
My husband, Greg, and I have been traveling in South America for 3 months. Greg called his mother a few days ago and the first time since we've been her she actually sounded interested and asked questions. I feel like her finally curious means she maybe realizing that things aren't all that different here than they are in the US.
I would like to think that our travels help spread empathy and understanding to the people we know.
Very sound points! I especially like the observation about the importance of traveling in our home countries extensively and how that can strengthen empathy or at least make one realize our commonalities. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and stories! 😊
Here is a story you might be interested in about someone with empathy (when no one else was empathitic) for someone in their own country as they were traveling.
"Is it possible to have a bicameral mind of empathy where one side of us can easily extend empathy to some groups while being resentful of others?"
The answer to your question is yes, absolutely. I don't think we can possibly hold equal concern for every human in every circumstance, as laudable as that would be. All of us carry bias and prejudice, and the great work of empathy is to acknowledge and welcome those who are different from us. I think developing empathy is an ongoing journey in itself, and it's essential that we explore and expand the limits of our hearts with kindness and courage.
In terms of travellers who are filled with joy by their adventures but look in disdain on their homelands, I also wonder if romanticism is at work. In a sense, those people are no different from the Victorian travellers of Britain who were swept up in orientalism, but ignored the incredible destruction done by colonialism and oppression. It's always easier to idealise what's good elsewhere than to dismantle the injustices your life sustains.
But still, I don't think we fail if we don't extend empathy to everyone. We've just got a lot more work to do.
I think you have a lot of great insight here Dru. Absolutely, a lot of the anthropology and history I've studied supports this. It's incredibly challenging for humans to overcome biases and tribal thinking. But what is remarkable is that there are indicators that we have improved and are able to extend our empathy over vast distances. Peter Singer's thesis in 'The Expanding Circle' made this point. Definitely have quite a way to go, but there's something reassuring to see the ways empathy has expanded in some ways. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! Cheers!
I’m a lifelong traveler and like you have assumed travel increases empathy. But now that I’m older and living among a set of more well-off vacationers, I realize that the travel I’ve done pre-cell phone and even pre-internet was different. Traveling does not necessarily make people better versions of themselves…it can also reinforce who they think they are, and their preferences. Thanks for the question!
Those are interesting observations and they stimulate a lot of thoughts for me, especially that last part. And I agree. I think many of us tend to imagine travel and adventure as doing something for us and as if it's a one-way street. After all, we're the ones spending all the time and money in a place, so we feel like we should get something out of our travels and that places somehow owe us something. I think that's maybe some of the psychology a lot of us operate from--we want the photos and trinkets, in part, to show off to others that this is our identity and status as a traveler. But real travel, as many of us learn, is both hard work and not a one-way street. You get what you put into it and someone has to be willing to not only receive from a place but give back to a place. The act of giving back is probably the ticket to acquiring more empathy. Not sure if my rambling makes sense but I enjoyed the comments. Lol. Thanks for the thoughts Jessica.
This is a great question. I have traveled with some people who are simply collecting “merit badges”. In other words, just crossing places off their lists. Or just collecting photos or, worse IMO, selfies. These people are often not moved by scenes that awake Empathy in you or me.
Yet there are others in whom travel awakens deep empathy for other cultures and people.
I do think that travel has the potential to increase our ability to empathize with others, but some are so self centered they can’t get beyond their needs for attention or insecurities to appreciate what they have seen and experienced.
But my takeaway is Keep on Traveling! It can’t hurt and may help you break out of the self-centered shell in which you may be living.
Thank you David! I think the analogy of trips as "merit badges" is really apt. I hope we can find a way to encourage others to do less of that and learn to appreciate that the more important things to acquire while traveling aren't necessarily tangible. Feel like that's a big challenge for a material-centric culture and society. And absolutely keep on traveling. Thanks for engaging David!
"How is it possible for the same person to enjoy being immersed in other cultural settings and wax poetic about their travels on their travel blog about their wonderful encounters with other people abroad only to return home with scorn for their own culture and other people? Being critical of one’s own culture and society is completely valid and important in my view, but not to the extent that you lose your empathetic scruples."
This is the conundrum I face now. I have been critical of my country for over thirty years, but now, I am asking myself "why?" I find that travel makes me empathetic for those less fortunate in their country, yet when there is someone in a similar position in mine, I am much less empathetic. It is as if I know there are more opportunities where I come from and seem to lack the understanding many times that my good fortune has not been experienced by others in the U.S. for various reasons. I can walk in others' shoes in their country, but not in mine. I haven't worked through the answer quite yet.
I really appreciate your candidness here. I've shared that same feeling a lot too. As I get a little older I try to keep myself in check by reminding myself that life is incredibly complicated and so much of what dictates our behaviors and the things we value aren't ever entirely up to us. We don't get to choose where we're born, the people we're surrounded with, whether our community values things like quality nutrition or seeing the world. But I think maybe part of the answer to "why" is because those of us who've seen the inequalities of opportunities firsthand also see those who take them for granted and that contrast is upsetting. I think it stems from a good place because we want people to hold themselves to higher standards. As I'm reflecting on your words though, I'm finding I don't have it totally worked out either...Thanks for your sharing your thoughts. Cheers!
This is a nice idea! I like this format! I think that several ways of traveling can allow us to be more or less emphatic. I also think that we are very critical of our homeland in general, and the fact that emphasis on culture can be disconnected from the criticism we have at home. It can be because of the romance of traveling and also that traveling is not living in the country where you are, you will never live like a local and have the life that the locals have.
Thank you Flavio! Great thoughts as well.
Empathy probably depends on the traveler and the type of traveling they do. Since I’ve lived in several countries, I’ve learned to make myself at home wherever I go which means leaning into the local culture as well as accepting many variations of living.
Totally agree. I think you have to probably have some prerequisites before traveling, a big one you hint at is being flexible and adaptable. If you're a rigid person, unwilling to change, you will likely find it hard to adjust and be empathetic to a new way of life. Thanks for the thoughts Rachel!
I think that, for individuals who are generally empathetic to begin with, many travel experiences promote empathy.
I think you're right. Rachel Shenk said something similar that I also liked, "Empathy probably depends on the traveler and the type of traveling they do."
I believe that the way we used to travel did indeed increase empathy. How could it have not? You had to rely on locals for your needs, for directions, for understanding where to go, what to do. And while doing so, you got to meet them, understand a way of life different from your own. But I also think it is the person who travels. In the old days, only those who were truly interested in other places and people would travel.
Now, everyone can travel, and everyone does, even if they have no desire to learn about a place, they go to places they read about for bragging rights, so they can say "yes, I've been there."
I knew someone once who was talking to big group of people about her experiences in Cancun, where she just returned from. They stayed in an all-inclusive resort, but she hated the fact that not everyone spoke English (this was years ago, unfortunately now everyone speaks English in the resorts). "Why would they?" I asked her. "Cancun is in Mexico". "Yes, but they need my money so if they want me to spend it there, they should speak my language", she said. I was speechless. It has never occurred to me that anyone would think that way. But now we have those kind of travelers. In their case, I don't think travel makes them more empathetic.
Yes, I think travel can make people more empathetic, but it all depends on what the traveler brings to the experience. If you take the time to talk to locals, tour guides, taxi drivers, people on the Metro, people you meet on the street, you will probably experience more empathy than some one on a cruise talking to other people from their own country and social status. But even without talking to people, just walking down the street you can see people enjoying their lives, their families, the places they live just like everyone else. People everywhere really want the same things.
"How is it possible for the same person to enjoy being immersed in other cultural settings and wax poetic about their travels on their travel blog about their wonderful encounters with other people abroad only to return home with scorn for their own culture and other people?"
I wonder if these people who have traveled abroad have spent time traveling in their own country. I wonder if they have bother to talk to those people they've scorned. I've done a lot of traveling in the US. I think it has made me more empathetic for people across the country. Driving through Montana looking at vast stretches of farmland it becomes apparent why those people have a disconnect with people in our tightly packed cities. Traveling for me and my husband is easy. It makes me more empathetic for the people who can not travel with such ease.
My husband, Greg, and I have been traveling in South America for 3 months. Greg called his mother a few days ago and the first time since we've been her she actually sounded interested and asked questions. I feel like her finally curious means she maybe realizing that things aren't all that different here than they are in the US.
I would like to think that our travels help spread empathy and understanding to the people we know.
Very sound points! I especially like the observation about the importance of traveling in our home countries extensively and how that can strengthen empathy or at least make one realize our commonalities. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and stories! 😊
Here is a story you might be interested in about someone with empathy (when no one else was empathitic) for someone in their own country as they were traveling.
https://hollystarley.substack.com/p/the-night-vigil-marya-hornbacher
"Is it possible to have a bicameral mind of empathy where one side of us can easily extend empathy to some groups while being resentful of others?"
The answer to your question is yes, absolutely. I don't think we can possibly hold equal concern for every human in every circumstance, as laudable as that would be. All of us carry bias and prejudice, and the great work of empathy is to acknowledge and welcome those who are different from us. I think developing empathy is an ongoing journey in itself, and it's essential that we explore and expand the limits of our hearts with kindness and courage.
In terms of travellers who are filled with joy by their adventures but look in disdain on their homelands, I also wonder if romanticism is at work. In a sense, those people are no different from the Victorian travellers of Britain who were swept up in orientalism, but ignored the incredible destruction done by colonialism and oppression. It's always easier to idealise what's good elsewhere than to dismantle the injustices your life sustains.
But still, I don't think we fail if we don't extend empathy to everyone. We've just got a lot more work to do.
I think you have a lot of great insight here Dru. Absolutely, a lot of the anthropology and history I've studied supports this. It's incredibly challenging for humans to overcome biases and tribal thinking. But what is remarkable is that there are indicators that we have improved and are able to extend our empathy over vast distances. Peter Singer's thesis in 'The Expanding Circle' made this point. Definitely have quite a way to go, but there's something reassuring to see the ways empathy has expanded in some ways. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! Cheers!
I’m a lifelong traveler and like you have assumed travel increases empathy. But now that I’m older and living among a set of more well-off vacationers, I realize that the travel I’ve done pre-cell phone and even pre-internet was different. Traveling does not necessarily make people better versions of themselves…it can also reinforce who they think they are, and their preferences. Thanks for the question!
Those are interesting observations and they stimulate a lot of thoughts for me, especially that last part. And I agree. I think many of us tend to imagine travel and adventure as doing something for us and as if it's a one-way street. After all, we're the ones spending all the time and money in a place, so we feel like we should get something out of our travels and that places somehow owe us something. I think that's maybe some of the psychology a lot of us operate from--we want the photos and trinkets, in part, to show off to others that this is our identity and status as a traveler. But real travel, as many of us learn, is both hard work and not a one-way street. You get what you put into it and someone has to be willing to not only receive from a place but give back to a place. The act of giving back is probably the ticket to acquiring more empathy. Not sure if my rambling makes sense but I enjoyed the comments. Lol. Thanks for the thoughts Jessica.