reading in darkness now visible ...as humans we are inherently relational and responsive beings, born with a voice- the ability to communicate our experience- and with the desire to engage responsively with others, that is, to live not alone but in a relationship. empathy and cooperation are part of our evolutionary history, key to our survival as a species. thus rather than asking how do we come to gain the capacity for empathy so that we pick up and respond to the feelings of others, how do we learn to take the point of view of the other and overcome the pursuit of self-interest, we are prompted to ask, how do we lose these basic human capacities. how do we come not to know or to care about what others are experiencing, how do we lose our desire and ability to love? 

 how does patriarchy shape and distort our relationship?