Ryoa Chung is quoted by Nathalie Collard in a column [in french] in La Presse in which she asks the question “Ethically, is it forbidden to dissociate myself from those who suffer in order to preserve my peace of mind?”

“We have no choice but to take an interest in the misery of others,” says Ryoa Chung, who is also co-director of the Centre for Research in Ethics at the Université de Montréal. We must stay in touch with what is happening if we want to avoid the erosion of democracy and its consequences, i.e. ideological drifts, the rise of populism or disinformation. The news media are the guardrails of democracy. »

“At the end of the day, the question we have to ask ourselves is, how do we get informed without ever losing sight of compassion? Psychologists are right that it can become too much. The idea is not to be invested in all causes, but rather to become aware of them and ask ourselves how we can help. »

Ryoa Chung, professor in the philosophy department of the University of Montreal

PHOTO MICHAEL DANTAS, ARCHIVES AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE