Video: Roman Krznaric on Moving from the Age of Introspection to the Age of Outrospection

Gabriel Murgar introduces the topic:

This video is of philosopher Roman Krznaric talking about how social change is contingent upon individuals being able to empathize with others. His premise ties in nicely with Beauregard’s belief that the political struggles of today are not about the recognition of power, but the recognition of peoples needs. Beauregard looks specifically at the role of proximity between actors and how this produces empathy and thus supports peoples ability to negotiate their interests and needs with those of others. In particular, he looks at the value of urban environments where people are constantly negotiating their interests given their close proximity to each other. So in short, taking what both Krznaric and Beauregard have to say, proximity between democratic actors is correlative to successful and viable democratic action (for more on this relationship take a look at my slidshow on the relationship between proximity and democracy). This of course should raise an interesting question for the role of place based information communication technology that supports interaction between neighbors. In what ways do such technology already promote this relationship between proximity and democracy? How might current design paradigms be altered so as to better support this relationship? The role of such technology in bringing people closer together is evident, how we might leverage it further to emphasize the importance of empathy or “outrospection” is a conversation worth pursuing.”

Watch the video here:

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