Social Character, Professionalism, and Deviance Management, and Empathy

• In Event: Navigating Contemporary Societal Dynamics: From Professionalism to Stigma Contests

Abstract

Dispassionate, rational, cool professionalism is the attitude engendered and practiced in many helping professions involved in the treatment and management of deviants. Of course we will consider how they, in those same professions, practice an openly punitive approach toward deviance that may be engendered and practiced. Using Erich Fromm’s notion of social character, it will be argued that both approaches mobilize feelings of hostility, contempt, and superiority and eschew empathy and compassion. Empathy is often discussed as an impediment to success. Both approaches are rooted in sado-masochistic social character formation. Professional journals and personal narratives will be interrogated to locate attitudinal themes and practices rooted in this social character type. As Fromm pointed out in his exploration of punishment is that attitudes and practices of the punishers toward deviance often reveals more about them than it does about the deviants. How social relations of domination and exploitation shape this character type will be considered. We will explore how the lack of empathy in these characterological attitudes and practices may impact the success of these approaches.

Author

• Danny Kessler, John Jay College of Criminal Justice