Adam Smith, the author of The Wealth of Nations, believed that “empathy is an intellectual activity that takes into account circumstances, motives, luck, social status, and human character of the person.” The moment we blame another person’s actions, we examine the appropriateness of those actions. Adequacy is a state of neither excess nor understatement. If everyone else thinks a person is bad but I advocate for that person by saying, “I can understand,” then I approve of their actions. This situation is called “mutual sympathy.” In our lives, we can be egocentric in some cases and relation-centric in others. The more mutual sympathy exists, the more relationship-oriented our thinking becomes. Both too much and too little can lead to tiredness or dissatisfaction. Pursuing happiness means finding this adequacy. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Solomon’s wisdom, demonstrated when he ruled by proposing to divide a living infant with a sword in order to reveal the baby’s true mother and a false one, was notable because nothing truly happened when he suggested dividing the infant. The application of wisdom out of context in this scenario renders wisdom tragic. The difference between a wise man and an evil man can often come down to a piece of paper. Had the real mother’s reaction to Solomon’s judgment been ignored and executed immediately, history might have depicted Solomon as the most evil tyrant in the world. We would easily forget the distinction represented by that piece of paper. Wisdom is the intuition that accurately perceives the unseen context in a given situation. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”