Those Who Wander Open Debate #1
Does travel promote empathy? Why or why not?
Greetings fellow wanderers!
Today, I am presenting a new feature here at Those Who Wander—a Those Who Wander Open Debate!
Lately, I’ve been thrilled by all the commentary on my recent posts and have thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone’s reflections and stories on travel and adventure. Thus, this has inspired me to come up with something new. I will be posing an occasional debate question instead of a weekly post to hopefully lure even more of us into a conversation about various topics related to the meaning of travel and adventure. These will be questions I have not spent as much time researching but am deeply curious to hear the thoughts of others on.
The format will be quite simple. I will post a question for debate, pose a prompt on the question, and present a poll with the question and comment button. Please feel free to respond with any length you like in the comments and if you have any research you’ve come across on the topic, I would love for you to share it with us here. In future open debates, I will follow up with the previous open debate’s polling data to reveal how everyone responded. I will plan on having an open debate once a month moving forward.
There will be a new location on the Those Who Wander website from which to access the current and future Debates. You can also simply respond in the comments to this post below as I’m aware some subscribers may only engage via the email newsletter rather than through the website or app. I do encourage you to download the Substack app though and visit the website as there is more content available there from Those Who Wander and many other great writers to discover.
Thanks ahead of time for your participation. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Now onto today’s question and prompt:
Does travel promote empathy? Why do you think so or why not?
Over the years, I have confidently assumed that travel and adventure absolutely make us more empathetic. How could it not? I’ve read endless books and blogs about people who’ve traveled far and wide to witness the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of our nature only to return with a greater appreciation for the depth of our humanity. The most common response I hear from people who travel is how surprised they are to find so many nice people in country x or state y. Nearly everyone I’ve spoken with about their travels at some point shares a story of someone’s heartwarming hospitality and generosity.
The more I travel, the less I presume about other people and cultures because travel, much like the study of anthropology, typically forces our minds to confront our ignorance, temper our assumptions, and withhold judgment of others when we can witness things firsthand. I assume anyone who explores this world in depth walks away with similar sentiments. And yet, I have not come across much research that explores whether this is true or not. Why would travel make someone more empathetic?
Sometimes people aren’t all that interested in a deep dive into another culture and travel simply to get away and decompress on a beach vacation sipping margaritas. But that’s not the travel character I’m necessarily interested in. Now, occasionally I meet someone who is indeed well-traveled or far more adventurous than me but who strikes me as rather ego-centric, sour, or outright sanctimonious. They often don’t seem all that patient or sympathetic to the human condition. Usually, they have an aversion to those who don’t travel and don’t travel the way they do. They feel above others. This is the kind of character I’m curious about.
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. To me, being empathetic means applying it across the human spectrum. 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? Does that even count as empathy if we fail to extend it to everyone?
What are your thoughts on this elusive question?
Expand on your answer in the comments:
Thanks for being a fellow traveler with me and participating in the discussion. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please consider subscribing, sharing, and supporting this project—much more to follow.
Cheers!
-JSB
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.
"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.