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Hermit-The-Prog

(36,628 posts)

48. interesting; fiction yields empathy

Tue Nov 26, 2019, 03:37 PM

Nov 2019

There was a Nova episode broadcast last night about the history of violence. A turning point in how executions and other state-sponsored killing are perceived came with the Gutenberg press and the availability of novels for the "common man" to read. Those who read fiction score higher in empathy than those who do not.

Somewhat related, homicide rates declined as manners improved. I think it was Heinlein who said, through a character, that manners are the lubricant of the machinery of society; when manners decline, society self-destructs.

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Fixing a Whole [View all] H2O Man Nov 2019 OP

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I'm glad that H2O Man Nov 2019 #36

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Lions and tigers and bears! H2O Man Nov 2019 #26

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Correcting the title for ya: Fixing A-Whole. TheBlackAdder Nov 2019 #3

I stand corrected! H2O Man Nov 2019 #10

I see what you did there ... A-Whole ... aggiesal Nov 2019 #17

K&R smirkymonkey Nov 2019 #4

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By coincidence, H2O Man Nov 2019 #9

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Awww, I read LOTR in 1965, when I was 17... Hekate Nov 2019 #22

I think that I H2O Man Nov 2019 #28

interesting; fiction yields empathy Hermit-The-Prog Nov 2019 #48

K&R... spanone Nov 2019 #14

Thank you! H2O Man Nov 2019 #16

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I think she would. H2O Man Nov 2019 #29

I'm saving this! Thanks for sharing! Karadeniz Nov 2019 #19

Thanks! H2O Man Nov 2019 #30

That is all fine and good, but the real problem right now is not trump, its his enablers Perseus Nov 2019 #20

Interesting. H2O Man Nov 2019 #31

Great essay, and lots of great replies coeur_de_lion Nov 2019 #24

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Oh, but of course. malthaussen Nov 2019 #40

Oh, I study H2O Man Nov 2019 #41

Exactly. malthaussen Nov 2019 #42

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Back at yah malaise Nov 2019 #46

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