The Problem of Empathy

0-3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Does Domenico Ghirlandaio’s 15th century “Slaughter of the Innocents” incite empathy in its viewers? If it does, to what could we attribute that empathy? Is it in the fresco’s composition, its dramatic rendering of soldier’s murdering children, helpless mothers, and rearing horses? Does its placement in Santa Maria Novella, a sacred space, inform our reading? If we do experience empathy, might that feeling engender anger regarding a state’s treatment of children, or are we moved by the mothers’ powerlessness? Are we morally or ethically called to political action for the sake of others, or are we ultimately more concerned with the threat of our own loss? And does the representation of such atrocities within distinct temporal, cultural, or geographic contexts make any difference? This course engages aesthetic and cultural forms as models for the problem of empathy, a central and pressing concern of humanistic studies. Students will consider paintings, photography, literature, music, theater, and performance art, across Florence’s historical and current art scenes—from churches to the Uffizi and digital art galleries, an LGBTQ festival, La Pergola Theater, and diverse musical events. We address the role of empathy, its possibilities and limits, as we face the local and global challenges of climate change, unprecedented rates of migration, the rise of populisms, and seemingly endless political upheaval. We center our engagement of artistic and cultural works in Florence and dialogue with Italian philosophers, from Benedetto Croce to Silvia Benso, as well as other European, Latin American, and US artistic and philosophical traditions.