When Adam met Sally: The Transformative Potential of Sympathy

• Published in: Social epistemology Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 420 - 439
• Main Author: Churcher, Millicent
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 03.07.2016; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Adam Smith; Bias; Childrearing practices; Embodiment; Ethical conduct; Imagination; Knowledge; Parents & parenting; Racial Bias; Racial groups; Racial identity; Racism; Sociability; Sympathy; Transracial
• ISSN: 0269-1728; 1464-5297
• DOI: 10.1080/02691728.2015.1119910

This paper adopts the view promoted by early modern philosopher Adam Smith that exercises of the sympathetic imagination play an important role in supporting human sociability and ethical behaviour. It argues that such exercises have potential to significantly change the way in which privileged racial identities relate to marginalised and devalued racial identities. First, the paper draws on Sally Haslanger's reflections upon her lived experience of transracial parenting to illustrate how sympathetic identification with the experiences of a differently racialized individual can transform the way in which we relate to entire racial groups. Haslanger's account demonstrates the potential for exercises of the sympathetic imagination to disrupt the way in which we experience our own embodiment, and to generate a form of knowledge that implicates our sense of self and will to act. Second, the paper discusses some limitations of appealing to sympathy as a social resource in less intimate contexts. This discussion throws light on the importance of exercising a critically reflective mode of sympathy to overcome racial bias, in addition to the importance of institutional design and grassroots initiatives in facilitating sympathetic identification across racial lines.