@A1fredo

>>Compassion is only there where you can directly interact and benefit from the good you just did for someone. It's not the act itself, but the feeling inside you after you've done the charity.

I disagree. One can feel compassion for a person experiencing suffering without personally witnessing the suffering.

One can also feel satisfaction from taking steps to relieve another's suffering, without actually witnessing the result. The clearest example comes in giving money to a charitable organization. A donor may never see what that organization does with their donation.

Some organizations will tell you exactly what your donation will go towards (though the personal recipient will usually remain anonymous), but other organizations just have a general mission statement their donors like, and they may occasionally publicize some of the work they have done with the donations they have received.

That feeling of satisfaction, if that is what you are looking for, can be achieved even on just the assumption that your donation will benefit someone in need. The feeling might not be as powerful as it would be if you actually witnessed the recipient benefiting from your act of charity, but it can still be felt.

This certainly works best in a system where charity is voluntary - not a welfare state. Although I am not necessarily opposed to having some kind of state-run safety net available for people who are genuinely in need, this should be limited and personal acts of charity should take care of as much as possible. This is where personal virtue should be encouraged in society, and an attitude of looking for opportunities to give, more so than receive. Nurturing values like this will strengthen the feeling of satisfaction after an act of compassion.

@DaveO276 >>I disagree. One can feel compassion for a person experiencing suffering without personally witnessing the suffering.

This is not compassion, this is pitty.

>>One can also feel satisfaction from taking steps to relieve another's suffering, without actually witnessing the result. The clearest example comes in giving money to a charitable organization. A donor may never see what that organization does with their donation.

This is pride. You don't really know if you did any good therefore you don't feel good about doing any good, you feel good because you boosted your ego and thought what an awesome person you are, or perhaps feel less guilty about something. The difference being it's about you. I really dislike this perception of compassion btw. I'm Mexican, so I don't believe any organization ever actually gives away its money. It all looks like a huge scam to me and pisses me off to no end every single time I hear about millions and millions given to charity because I can picture those suited assholes pocketing it all.

>>Some organizations will tell you exactly what your donation will go towards (though the personal recipient will usually remain anonymous), but other organizations just have a general mission statement their donors like, and they may occasionally publicize some of the work they have done with the donations they have received.

Really? I... don't know, man... If you say so...

>>That feeling of satisfaction, if that is what you are looking for, can be achieved even on just the assumption that your donation will benefit someone in need. The feeling might not be as powerful as it would be if you actually witnessed the recipient benefiting from your act of charity, but it can still be felt.

I think you are conflating two emotions. And hell, they may even be the same, but if it is, we still should make a difference between the source of it in language in order to help us distinguish it. I don't think it's the same though.

Ok, I like this point because you made me think. I will give up on this right now though. I'm self aware I may want to be right not to win, but because I want it to be different. In my head there's this important different between you expecting a rewarard or not. There's also my assumption that your body reacts to the other physically to the other person being benefited. But I hate people arguing just to win, I hate that. And my idea is not clear enough in my head. I can't travel into being there for some reason. I don't know why. Uh... I can't remember this happening to me before, I feel like blocked. Anyway, sorry bout this.

I agree with the last part, except I think that the state-charities take away the willingness of people to help others. It's such an important experience, and I think most people have never even felt it personally, you know. The real deal, not just the giving some coins you don't need. Anyway, don't listen to me. I'm feeling weird. Nice talk though, thanks.