On Human Rights and the Israel-Hamas War, a conversation with University of Oregon Scholars
On February 8, 2024, a panel of University of Oregon scholars and experts addressed the complexities of the Israel-Hamas war. Professor Paul Slovic was one of four panelists participating in this compassionate conversation about human rights. From their particular fields of study, they discussed the war with the goal of inspiring empathy and informed action. Others participating on this panel were Professor Diane Baxter; David A. Frank, Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric; Ibrahim Hamide, Business owner and peace advocate; and Cheyney Ryan, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Law.
Here is a brief summary of Slovic's comments for this webinar:
The deadly Arithmetic of Compassion
Conflicts like the Israel-Hamas War result in an enormous number of casualties. Psychological research demonstrates that individuals may feel reduced compassion or a diminished sense of urgency to help when confronted with a large number of victims or statistical representations of their suffering.
This emotional numbing in the face of large-scale tragedies stands in sharp contrast to the intense emotional reaction people experience when informed of a single, identifiable victim. This phenomenon is referred to as Psychic Numbing and the collapse of compassion. “We are wildly inconsistent in the way we value human lives. We value individual lives greatly, but those lives lose their value when they become part of a larger crisis,” Slovic explained.
Another factor that interferes with humane decision making is the Prominence Effect, which is a theory of choice that says people often default to choosing the option that is better in the most prominent or defensible attribute. This is caused by the limited span of human attention. This can result in neglecting admittingly important elements like protecting civilian lives in conflicts like the Israel-Hamas war. Unfortunately, these cognitive shortcomings are widespread, leading to significant suffering and death, often without adequate attention or intervention.
Slovic was in Israel in October, 1973 when Egypt and Syria launched a major attack to begin what came to be known as the Yom Kippur War. Conflicts between Arabs and Jews were serious in those years, he recalls, but it is indeed frightening that, a half-century later, they are even worse. "In my perspective”, he told the webinar audience, “having studied the psychology of violence, particularly in the context of genocide and nuclear war, I am concerned that neither Israel nor Palestine will exist in a livable way 50 years from now without forceful and skilled outside intervention.” He underscored this point by presenting a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency noting that Iran is on the threshold of developing nuclear weapons that could be used against Israel “Forceful intervention must create peace through a solution that respects and protects the security and human rights of everyone in the region," Slovic warned.
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Blog posts discussing Psychic Numbing