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EMOTIVE ETHICS

the oldest, most common approach to ethics, sometimes called "Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself":

      tower m otto

In feeling terms:

tower m otto

The result:

tower m ottotower m ottotower m otto

Born free, as free as the wind blows / As free as the grass grows / Born free to follow your heart / / Live free and beauty surrounds you / The world still astounds you / Each time you look at a star // Stay free, where no walls divide you / You're free as the roaring tide / So there's no need to hide // Born free, and life is worth living / But only worth living / 'cause you're born free // (Stay free, where no walls divide you) / You're free as the roaring tide / So there's no need to hide // Born free, and life is worth living / But only worth living // 'cause you're born free

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INSPIRATIONS

A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space.  He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.  This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.  Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.  Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)  Mathematical Circles

Love alone can unite living beings so as to complete and fulfill them... for it alone joins them by what is deepest in themselves. All we need is to imagine our ability to love developing until it embraces the totality of men and the earth." 
~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

GOALS

[2A2] ETHICS: our primary approach is the oldest: ethics guided by lovingkindness; more specifically, by three nonbinary emotions: biophilia, inner peace, joie de vivre

[2A2f] To practice replacing fear and greed with love, compassion, tolerance, and the sympathetic imagination.

[3C1] To unify the self: our goal is to maximize our potential by cultivating both sides of our brains, developing all our multiple intelligences.

+ [ To practice listening. See pages on this topic in our anthology: Covey on listening +reading, writing, speaking: Class Discussion; Listening; Have You Tried Listening?

 
Step One

Meditation and Guided Imagery

"A Zen-inspired blend of meditation, breathing exercises and focus techniques are in vogue in corporate America—championed by blue-chip employers like Google Inc. and General Mills Inc. as a simple but potent mind-sharpening tool."

Gershman, Jacob. "Lawyers Go Zen, With Few Objections." WSJ. June 18, 2015. Accessed September 20, 2015 by Starfish, E603A

 

tower m otto

Meditating and Sharing in a Group

"I know when we first began our in class meditations, I wouldn't allow myself to completely let go. I was running through a mental list of what I had to do for the day. I would think about the last time I ate or what I would eat for lunch when class ended. I would think about how late I would have to stay up or when I would finally get a chance to call my parents. I would be conscious of how other's hands felt when we joined hands. I was overly conscious of my own hand movements—are my hands dry? But then, with more and more meditations, I was able to completely indulge in Ram Dass's voice. I was able to release myself of all other thoughts and truly clear my mind. I felt at peace and my mind was decluttered enough to serve as a light source for those in pain. I was then better able to understand other's pain and suffering during their best and worst, as well as their happiness and joy. I was able to have the listening mind, "this kind of listening to the intuitive mind is a kind of surrender based on trust. It's playing it by the ear, listening for the voice within. We trust that it's possible to here into a greater totality which offers insight and guidance" (The Listening Mind, 111). I think this is particularly true when we all join hands. Depending on whose hands I am holding, I try and think back to their most recent best and worst, then I send them light from my heart. With this clear mind, I am able to more fully relate to those around me.   (PEACOCK)

 

 

Shairing in Pairs

Bring a piece of paper with your name on it and this opening sentence: "Last week I felt a range of feelings from xxxx, xxxx, and xxxx to xxxx, xxxx, and xxxx." You will hand in this paper to the instructor at the beginning of class. Keep a copy for yourself if necessary.

You will be paired with a new class member each class session, as long as possible. You will get to speak for two minutes without being interrupted and you will get to provide that experience for the other person.  As you speak, try to keep the focus on your feelings as long as possible.

Step Two

LISTENING

Listen by extending your sympathetic imagination. Penetrate the barrier which space puts between you and the speaker, and, by actually entering into the speaker's world, secure a momentary but complete identification with him or her. Sense the fundamental reality and inner working, the peculiar “truth” and nature of the person.

Add your emotional intelligence to your sympathetic imagination:

Listen by simply opening your heart to truly hear the person speaking, give the person your full attention, be completely present Try to actually understand what the other person is saying -- not just the words, but the meaning and FEELING behind the words.

Why? It is a wonderfully healing experiene simply to be lovingly, openly heard by others, knowing that you are free to express how you FEEL without being ignored, judged, advised, or interrupted. Everyone has their own wisdom, their own answers within them. It is wonderful to empower another person by facilitating them to find their own path by giving them your full, undivided attention as they speak.

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testimony

"Communication is without question THE most important skill in life. . . . . 40 to 50 per cent ofour communication time is LISTENING --- the one mode we have had the least training in..... Of the five levels of listening -- ignoring, pretend listening, selective listening, attentive listening, and empathic listening -- only the highest, empathic listening, is done within the frame of reference of the other person. ... It is a very, very rare skill."

Steven Covey, business consultant and speaker

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     "[W]hen a person realizes he has been deeply heard, his eyes moisten. I think in some real sense, he is weeping for joy. It is as though he were saying, "Thank God, somebody heard me, Someone knows what it's like to be me"

    I felt moved after reading this eloquent quote by Carl Rogers, one of the founders of the humanistic approach in psychology. Mostly everyone (excluding those who experience alexithymia) knows what its like to feel crushed, empty, lonely, rejected, etc. These negative feelings are a terrible burden when you think no one can relate to you. When someone is empathetic to another through the sharing of past experiences, especially past distress, I feel it is most definitely mutually beneficial for both people. It ameliorates joy. The feeling (empathy) you are together with another human, -together in strife and together in joy- is a feeling that I value everyday.

    Kristine, UGS 302

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tower m otto

Student who read Alice in Wonderland

Meeting the Cheshire Cat, Alice was "feeling very glad she had someone to listen to her." "I don't think they can hear me … I feel somehow as if I was getting invisible." I notice how Alice still struggles to connect with anyone in her adventures. In a way, Alice's feelings of being invisible are relatable. When people don't listen to us, it makes us feel invalidated and unimportant. I detest it when I'm with friends, and they just play on their phone.

tower m otto

What's the point of me actually being there? This idea of focusing your energy and heart to the person talking during Best and Worst makes me feel important and valued." 

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Students who read Siddhartha

Siddhartha "learned from [the river] to listen, to pay close attention with a quiet heart, with a waiting, open soul, without passion, without a wish, without judgment, without an opinion"

"He learns from this ferryman one of the most important things we learn in our class: empathetic listening. The ferryman listens attentively, without giving advice, without speaking, and this allows Siddhartha to pour his life story out to this stranger that he just met. In the video, it states that "we are hardwired to experience another's experience as if we are experiencing it ourselves." After experiencing effect of the ferryman's empathetic listening on himself, Siddhartha realizes how important such a practice is. When he goes to learn from the river, he hears various different voices, some yelling about pain and suffering, and he learns to empathize."

"like only a few, he knew how to listen" (94). Upon reading this I was instantly reminded of class and how we are supposed to listen to no one else and think about nothing else except the speaker during Best and Worst. The idea of active listening has been a huge source of discussion in class so far, and I was surprised that it came up in this novel of all places"

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****** E. Q. ******

Gawain

On the heath, King Lear asked Gloucester: “How do you see the world?” And Gloucester, who is blind, answered:" I see it feelingly."

 

tower m otto

 

tower m otto

GOALS For WEEKLY "Best and Worst" FEEDBACK:

  • BONDING: "to help students develop a small community within the larger whole" (CRUE).

  • to practice humane education to reach the the liberal arts goal of tapping and integrating entire self  

  • Why EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE? emotional literacy?

    • Essential for appreciation of literature, especially authors such as Shakespeare, Toni Morrison, etc.

    • Assists our writing goals, esp. "composition" of self

    • Facilitates our Independent Inquiry Goals: “Know Thyself”

    • Essential to meet our Leadership Goals: see connection between Emotional  Intelligence  and  Leadership

See these readings in the course anthology :

             the course description on emotive ethics;"Know Thyself" ; Leadership, EQ, and Both Sides of the Brain; Emotional Intelligence; Harmonizing Emotion and Thought; “The Man Without Feelings”; “The Roots of Empathy” ; David Lee Powell, "A" student; Molesters and Sociopaths; “I Am a Rock”; “Comfortably Numb”; "Turn It Off"; Love; Joy; Peacefulness; Enjoyment; Acceptance; Enthusiasm; Definitions of Passion,Compassion, Empathy, and the Sympathetic Imagination;Table of Contents to Companion to Ethics by Singer;The Ethics of Sympathy: summary; Table of Contents to the Feminist Care Tradition in Animal Ethics ed. Donovan and Adams

check out these multimedia: Children Full of Life; Learning How to Feel*; Compassion guided imagery;   

[*this movie was made by a student especially concerned about suicide. The instructor was interviewed in his office but had not seen the movie when the interviewer asked him to hold up the television prop. All the student interviews were done without the knowledge of the instructor. It is not in any way an instructor's promotional video, nor was or is any student required to view it. ]

Practice Emotional Literacy

Quote from an assigned novel*: "The entirety was overpowering. I was sad and horrified, ashamed and bereft, lonely and exhausted, caffeinated and guilt-ridden and grief-stricken and many other things as well.* ..."I love how Rosemary identifies her emotions here. It reminded me so much of best and worst. I can also feel how overwhelmed she was, and I completely identify with her physical exhaustion as a result from all of these emotions swirling about."

Capybara 603B16

Quote from an assigned novel*: "We call them feelings because we feel them. They don't start in our minds, they arise in our bodies…you can't help the things you feel, only the things you do.* I thought this quote highlighted our class's emphasis on feelings. We're often conditioned to keep our feelings private, since emotion is considered weak. I remember feeling vulnerable sharing during best and worst at the beginning of the year since I wasn't used to so closely examining how things in my life made me feel. I think there is a sense of irony in the book that Rosemary's father is a psychologist, who is supposed to study feelings and emotion, yet is possibly the least emotionally connected character. It reveals just how misguided our attempts to theorize, hide, or ignore this profoundly significant part of our humanity is. Ultimately, Rosemary reminds us that feelings don't have to be rational. We feel just because we do."

Jaguar 603B16

*Fowler, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves 

 

 

Gawain Gawain

see your course anthology for more suggestions for feeling words and the

Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows (fr. Jenna E350):

FEELING STRESSED?

 

Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, once wrote, "to allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to the violence of our times. More than that, it is cooperation with violence. The frenzy of the activist neutralizes his work for peace. It destroys her own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of his own work because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.One interpretation: The fear of failure and the need to get things done create this downward spiral of the spirit. To break this "circle of violence" we must step back, reflect, meditate. While at rest we may be able to see things anew, which will increase our "fruitfulness at work" and at home.

Stressed by papers? Tests? Relationship issues? For these and other stressors, take a few minutes to check out a new interactive website called "Stress Recess" at http://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/stressrecess, a component of the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center. This site is loaded with videos, animation, video games, body scans, quizzes, clickable charts and graphics and practical information tailored to YOU. Learn what causes stress, signs of stress and—most importantly---what you can do to manage stress in healthy ways!  All UT Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC) groups are free and confidential.For many concerns that college students face – like overwhelming emotions, difficult relationships and adjustments, academic problems – a group context is the best option for getting support. In fact, groups are often even more beneficial than 1-on-1 counseling. Groups, classes, and workshops offer a unique opportunity in which peer interactions facilitate self-improvement and the alleviation of suffering. Participants often find that they feel less alone in their struggles and that the group provides a sense of community.At CMHC, we offer a wide variety of therapy groups, therapeutic classes, and skill-building workshops that address a range of student needs. Although some students are initially hesitant to consider participating in a group, those who join consistently find this form of support to be a very beneficial and positive experience. Click here to view the full list of groups available this fall: https://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/groups.html#schedule

New groups form each semester. Most therapy and support groups consist of about 5 to 10 members. Classes and workshops, which incorporate more education and skill-building, may be a bit larger. Most groups begin a few weeks into the semester and last 8 to 10 weeks (concluding before finals), though some may be shorter. In most cases, you have an opportunity to meet with the facilitator(s) to discuss your interest, while other groups can be attended on a drop-in basis.

If the group you're interested in is full, you may wish to call (512) 471-3515 or come by CMHC Monday through Friday between 8am and 5pm to discuss your needs.

If you have any questions about our groups, please contact Dr. Kate Czar, who oversees the group program, at (512) 471-3515.

Self-Care Activities/Resources: College can be really exciting, but it can also at times be stressful. Practicing self-care can help you manage the ups and downs of college life. Self-care refers to activities and practices that can help you to reduce your stress and enhance your overall well-being: essentially, proactively taking care of yourself. Self-care is essential in order to be successful inside and outside of the classroom.  Self-care is more than an occasional treat, but a way of living each day that incorporates practices and behaviors that help you feel refreshed, re-energized, and rested. Self-care helps you deal with the daily stresses in your life—from academic pressures, to interpersonal relationships, to future plans, and others. Everyone deals with stress differently, and everyone's preference for practicing self-care is different as well.  Check out the interactive Thrive app, visit a MindBody Lab, and learn more about self-care here.

Counseling and Mental Health Center: 
512-471-3515

  • UT Telephone Counseling (24 hours/day, 7 days/week): 
    512-471-CALL (2255)

  • Behavior Concerns Advice Line (24 hours/day, 7 days/week): 
    512-232-5050

      •  
     honi soit motto

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