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Writer's pictureGençlik Komisyonu

On Conscience, Empathy and Othering in the Digital World




Keeping Humanity Alive in the Digital Age: Conscience and Justice

The speed and accessibility provided by the digital age, while facilitating the sharing of information, also creates a cold distance in human relations. While social media enables access to large masses, it can sometimes overshadow deep human values such as empathy, ethics and justice. Today, social media platforms are no longer spaces where we can freely share our thoughts, but are often transformed into areas where judgment, alienation and polarization are facilitated, and where a lynching culture prevails. So, where do conscience and justice stand in this environment?


The Two Faces of Justice: Law and Conscience

In our understanding of justice, laws provide a system that regulates and protects social life. However, laws are cold and impartial; they have a mechanical operation that is independent of emotions. Although the main purpose of laws is to bring crime and punishment together, conscience steps in when this mechanical operation is lacking. Because while laws answer the question, “Is an action illegal?”, conscience asks the question, “Is this action right?” Therefore, in order to ensure social justice, not only written rules but also individuals’ decisions based on conscience are necessary. In a society where these two are not in balance, laws can become a tool of tyranny that ignores conscience; and conscience, when left alone, can become a tool of summary execution.


Digital Anatomy of Othering

In today’s social media world, it is quite common to detach from other people according to our identities, thoughts and values, and to position them as a different “other”. The biggest danger underlying othering is that individuals perceive those who are different from them as a threat due to their desire to belong to a group. This is a situation that has been experienced many times, not only on social media, but also in various periods of history, with the distinction between “us” and “them”. One of the examples in history is the perception of the enemy as a monster or insect rather than a human during times of war. Social media platforms also accelerate and multiply this distinction, causing us to look at each other only through “digital profiles”. Lynch culture in particular becomes an element that further strengthens this kind of separation; it pushes us to judge and exclude the person we are talking to without knowing them, without trying to understand their feelings and thoughts. These rapidly occurring judgments erode tolerance and empathy in society and increase polarization.


Natural Law and the Quest for Universal Justice

It can be said that law is nourished by two basic approaches: positive law and natural law. While positive law is protected by written laws, natural law defends the moral values inherent in human nature and the concept of universal justice. According to natural law advocates, human rights are universal, unchangeable and inherent rights of every individual. In this context, positive law, which aims to protect the rights of individuals, is the visible and concrete face of justice; however, if it is based only on written laws, it cannot meet the universal values that protect human dignity in society. Natural law advocates that individuals should act according to their own conscience and ethical values and represents a concept of justice beyond the law. In other words, even if an action is not defined as a crime by the law, it can be considered wrong in conscience. In this case, how can we, as a society, live out our conscientious responsibilities beyond written laws?


Social Media and the Digital Impact of Conscience

Social media makes individuals invisible by overcoming distance; this often makes empathy difficult. Especially in a digital environment where lynching culture is on the rise, individuals tend to judge easily, while commitment to social values and individual conscience tends to decrease. In social media, where everyone can express their own opinions out loud, judgments triggered by anger are often made without knowing the other party, or understanding the living conditions or psychological state of that person. Social media often creates an illusion that makes us forget that we are interacting with real people, and this illusion brings with it the risk of forgetting human values. In the digital world, centering conscience becomes not only an ethical responsibility, but also a social need.


The Power of Empathy and Social Bonds

Empathy is one of the most powerful ways to understand people and establish a social bond based on conscience. We may have different thoughts from each other; however, when we can empathize, we can move beyond our differences and come closer to understanding each other. Empathy is the ability to accept another person as they are, to try to understand their story, and to put ourselves in their shoes. In today’s world, empathy is becoming increasingly difficult in the physical world as well as on social media platforms. Othering comes into play when we make our identities clear and adopt an attitude that is tightly tied to our identity. Having different thoughts is a requirement of human nature, however, dividing these thoughts into “us” and “them” becomes an element that weakens our social bonds. However, understanding our differences with empathy allows both individuals and all of humanity as a society to establish a bond based on conscience.


A Roadmap to Keep Conscience Alive in the Digital World

In the digital world, displaying an empathy-based, conscientious stance is necessary for both individual development and social peace. Taking conscience as a guide in all digital and physical areas against the “lynching” and alienation culture that is easily accessible on social media platforms is the key to establishing a healthy social bond. An understanding of life based on conscience and empathy not only keeps human values alive, but also makes social peace and justice possible.


This article was prepared as a result of the discussions held by the 6 commission members who attended the Young Conscience Meeting dated 24.10.2024.


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