Does He Feel Our Pain?
A leading scholar on the virtue of compassion argues that the president does feel our pain. But in an intellectual and disciplined manner. We invite readers to join the discussion.
continue readingClifford Orwin
Clifford Orwin is Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto and Distinguished Visiting Fellow and member of the Boyd and Jill Smith Task Force on the Virtues of a Free Society at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University.
Articles by Clifford Orwin
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Some Profiles of Courage
The “Hemingway code” is only one form of valor. Rosa Parks’s strength in taking a seat at the front of the bus required another kind.
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Brave Hearts
A son remembers his father and ponders the beautiful mystery of firefighting.
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A Soldier's Book Bag
Today’s combat soldier wears armor and equipment that often exceeds half his own body weight, so he may be forgiven for packing magazines rather than books.
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The Good Soldier
How does West Point teach cadets to risk life and limb on the battlefield? Purely physical courage is not enough.
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How an Emotion Became a Virtue – it took some help from Rousseau and Montesquieu
Compassion today is widely regarded as a good, and those who display it as good people. Indeed, many see compassion or some related virtue (e.g., empathy) as the core of goodness, as the virtue of virtues. It’s not only a private but also a public virtue, much cherished in our politicians. Even in international affairs, of all places, the apex of virtuous action is widely taken to be “humanitarian intervention” or the use of force to relieve suffering. Compassion has not always enjoyed so lofty and uncontroversial a status; will it someday once again relinquish it?
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