Empathy, sympathy, justice and the child

Abstract

This essay explains and puts into theoretical perspective the rising interest in justice as an emotional virtue. Martin Hoffman's empathy theory is germane to this debate since it gives an essentially emotion‐oriented account of moral development in general, as well as an explanation of the gradual bonding of empathy/sympathy with justice. While Hoffman's theory provides valuable insights into the ways in which all moral concerns, including justice, rely on and relate to the child's original capacity for empathy, it seems to underestimate the emotionality of justice itself. This unnecessarily weakens the thrust of Hoffman's educational suggestions about induction as the most productive method of pro‐social stimulation.

Notes

Corresponding author. Faculty of Education, University of Akureyri, PO Box 224, IS‐602 Akureyri, Iceland. Email: [email protected]