In the Face of Another’s Suffering

This book sets out to philosophically explore the following questions: What is compassion? What does it tell us about the relationship between the rational and irrational in man? What role does it have in the flourishing life? To answer, it begins by discussing Aristotle’s account of compassion, followed by Thomas Aquinas, Martha Nussbaum, Kristján Kristjánsson, and Diana Fritz Cates. The wide range of authors and the focus on emotion and virtue allows one to build a solid picture of compassion as perfective of the human person, as the good response to suffering, and as certainly key in human flourishing.
The presentation of each author features a thorough discussion of each one’s notion of emotion and virtue, highlighting similarities, differences, strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis the others. Each philosophical anthropological framework is in turn used to understand each author’s take on compassion and the ethical potential envisioned for it. The choice of classical and contemporary accounts allows one to grasp the shift from compassion as a noteworthy “good emotion” (as per the original Aristotelian account) to compassion as an important virtue for relational moral excellence. Choosing to be compassionate disposes us to help other individuals flourish in a truly human way, and also enables us to take steps towards a society and culture where all—even the weakest—can flourish. This book will be of interest to academics from both philosophy and psychology, compassion researchers and trainers, and character educators.

Pia K. Garcia is a Philosophy professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific, Pasig City, Philippines. Born in Manila, she graduated AB Interdisciplinary Studies (minor in Literature) from the Ateneo de Manila University (2010). She worked for a year at Punlaan School—where she taught computer—and for three at PAREF Southcrest School, Inc., where she taught English, Literature, Religion and Philosophy across year levels. She then went on to do her postgraduate studies in Rome, and earned her Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (2021). In general, her research explores the relationships between reason, desires, emotions and virtues: specifically, she has written about compassion as a virtuous response to human suffering and key to the good life. Her interest in human flourishing goes beyond the theoretical: she has always been involved in the personal mentoring programs, service projects and outreach activities of the institutions she has worked in.