Summary Of Compassion And Terror By Martha Nussbaum

In the article titled “Compassion & Terror,” the author, Martha C. Nussbaum, investigates a human’s ability to empathize with a group of people experiencing terror by juxtaposing groups with relations to a terroristic matter to those with no relation to the victims under attack. One specific example the reaction the Americans had toward the genocide that occurred in Rwanda (the Americans did not intervene) versus the their reaction to the events of 9/11 (inspired unity throughout the US). The article discloses that compassion is influenced by things that people are biased towards, therefore, in the example above the Americans’ nationalistic ties to their country are pulled resulting in a movement of unity and retaliation, but the war in Rwanda