I argue that compassion entails the experience of feelings that lie in tension with one another. Specifically, I argue that to be compassionate is to simultaneously identify with and feel separated from the regarded individual, and it is to feel empowered in being needed while also feeling powerless to prevent the other's suffering. Previous studies have typically only emphasized one side or the other of this complex dynamic, which has resulted in the phenomenon being cast in radically different directions: as an ethically valuable end to be sought in social relations and, conversely, as a means of affirming one's privilege in an asymmetrical relationship with another person.

中文翻译：

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悲悯之心中的矛盾


我认为，悲悯需要体验彼此紧张的感受。具体来说，我认为富有同情心是同时认同并感到与受尊重的个体分离，它是在被需要时感到有力量，同时也感到无力阻止他人的痛苦。以前的研究通常只强调这种复杂动态的一面或另一面，这导致这种现象被投射到完全不同的方向：作为在社会关系中寻求的具有道德价值的目的，反过来，作为在与他人的不对称关系中肯定一个人的特权的一种手段。