Sam Richards 'Empathy' By Adichie: Summary

Empathy and Danger
Sam Richards discusses on “A radical experiment in empathy” while Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie on “The danger of a single story”. This paper looks into their discussions answering different questions in regards to their topics of discussions.
Part of Richards' sociological thought experiment/exercise on empathy that stood out the most includes some of his examples with the Chinese and the coal as well as the Arab Muslims soldiers in Iraq trying to defend their homes. These examples stood out because they clearly pointed out how or why the main reason why some countries were invested in some poor countries. It is evident that these well doing countries were not there simply because of freedom and justice, but because of the resources they stood to get from the country. These parts of the lecture mattered a lot because society needs to think in a fresher perspective to understand the world around them. Quoting Sam, “empathy is the key to being a sociologist”, reveals that empathy can be connected to so much more. Therefore, empathy should be taught in schools in order to enhance interaction between students as well as build creativity for the future. In turn, this can teach the world to empathize in a mental and emotional way.
Richards explained that the Arabs in Iraq had a reason to be angry because they knew this fact and had realized that some other people had a plan to bully or use them for the advancement of their own well-being and not theirs. Due to this, a new insight on how to view other people without prejudice sprouts up. The whole idea being understanding another person’s point of view, and using empathy to make decisions that may potentially reduce the harm to those affected by the outcomes of those