Publish at May 13 2026 Updated May 13 2026
When you're an addict, whatever the context, the assistance of others is essential for your self-fulfillment. In this vein, the addict's psychological state is related to his or her social ties. If they are conflicting, he finds himself in a kind of crisis of dependence; if they are not, the dependent's status is better lived.
Benevolence is an affective witness transmitted to an individual in a situation of dependence. When applied selflessly, it contributes to the individual's well-being. But is it always so obvious to be benevolent? How does benevolence contribute to the development of autonomy?
In almost all of life's contexts, it is recommended to be benevolent, like a statement that has become automatic, giving the impression of being self-evident or a given. One might think that everyone walks around with a bag of caring attitudes ready to be used. But it takes more than that for benevolence to manifest itself.
The word benevolence comes from the Latin benevolens , meaning to wish well. As Karine Bréhaux and All note, "It's a natural feeling erected into a moral principle." Is it always so obvious?
Benevolence implies the regular transmission of affective signals to dependent people, even in tense contexts. The world sometimes fails to realize the emotional effort it takes to remain stable through experience. Often, the benevolent attitude is aimed at a person who is constantly throwing jabs at us. In spite of this, the framework of our exercise requires us not to react vehemently, but to remain calm while being benevolent.
Emotional state has everything to do with it. Our own lives may be at half-mast or in uncomfortable situations. At this level, we may also be in a state of emotional dependency, needing to heal in order to become lovingly stable again and be able to continue to work positively with our opposite numbers.
In this way, benevolence is not always a given, but a kind of apprenticeship that we perfect through experience with others, working on our stability. When we have to look after people with disabilities or accidents, for example, it's all the more important because their emotional stability depends on our relationship with them.
Caring attitudes vary according to context. They can range from a simple facial expression to more perceptible actions.
In the medical field, "reading facial expressions is part of non-verbal communication, and enables all practitioners to understand the emotional experience their patients go through when they enter the practice. What's more, mastering facial language calls upon essential clinical notions such as empathy." ( Déborah Cohen , 2019).
In the school context, Gwénola Reto has written an entire thesis entitled: Benevolence in the school environment. In her work as a teacher trainer, she has observed the difficulty some teachers have in building harmonious relationships with their pupils. She sees benevolence as an ethical orientation and a professional posture for teachers vis-à-vis their students.
In this vein, she presents its manifestations:
In view of the above, benevolence has everything to be a pillar for building a better educational climate and becoming a guarantee of a good relationship between teachers and learners. In this configuration, learners can be expected to be more involved and receptive to teaching, which is likely to promote better training.
To reinforce this idea, Marshall Rosenberg favors the introduction of non-violent communication (NVC) through giraffe language (a synonym for non-violent communication in many countries) as opposed to jackal language (more rigid, aggressive and violent) as a benevolent strategy in the relationship between teachers and students.
Indeed, "giraffe language comes from observing and noting our feelings, our needs and those of others, it shows our vulnerability and turns it into a strength, it is benevolent and creates fulfilling relationships, it creates empathetic bonds."
In the education sector, the benevolent posture of the teacher is not always going to transform the mentality of students, rather like a miracle cure. However, by creating a more harmonious climate in the various learning contexts, it can make a real difference in the long term.
We work on the principle that you only give what you get. A patient treated with kindness, especially one who has spent a considerable amount of time in a deep state of dependency, will be able to reflect this in his environment. He'll be emotionally refreshed and ready to serve with greater enthusiasm.
In the same vein, a critically ill patient is more open when he or she regularly receives caring attitudes.
We interviewed Suzie Momo, a nursing student in Germany, who is usually called upon to care for the elderly as part of her practical training. She said:
"Caring is the essence of nursing. To be a nurse, you have to be patient and have a heart ready to be compassionate...Benevolence improves the patient's psychological state."
In other words, it's a kind of inner predisposition for those who choose this profession.
A patient who constantly receives positive attention from the nursing staff is in the best position to transform those around him or her. But before reaching the patient, Alda-Sofia Lecellier speaks of managerial benevolence in the management of medical staff. It goes without saying that a medical profession constantly frustrated by a certain type of management will not be in the best position to remain benevolent towards patients.
At the end of the day, being benevolent means sowing a seed and working to nurture it so that it can germinate and flourish.
Illustration: image generated by Meta
Sources
Déborah Cohen (2019) : "Study of emotions through facial expressions, interest in buco-dental medicine care : current data from the literature." thesis.
https:// dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-03297257/file/Dentaire_Cohen_Deborah_DUMAS.pdf
Gwénola RETO ( 2018) : "Benevolence in the school environment", thesis.
https:// usherbrooke.scholaris.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/95f15bef-02ec-4000-9a6a-03782fc33a36/content
Marshall B. Rosenberg (2007): "Teaching with kindness. building mutual understanding between students and teachers."
https:// www.ifbelgique.be/images/boite-a-outils/a-lire/nous-avons-lu-pour-vous/lecturecnv-echenoy.pdf
Alda-Sofia Lecellier, "La bienveillance managériale" dissertation.
https:// www.ecole-montsouris.fr/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/LECELLIER_AldaSofia_MEMOIRE_DCS.pdf
Autonomy, dependence, impairment, disability
https:// www.elsevier-masson.fr/media/s3/France/SampleChapter/08.2021/Muller477102-min.pdf
Karine Bréhaux et All ( 2016), "le principe de Bienveillance."
https://stm.cairn.info/ue-1-en-150-cartes-mentales-ue-1--9782311663075-page-153?lang=fr
L'entonnoir CNV de la disponibilité, pour une gestion de ses émotions - Françoise Hecquard - Thot Cursus
https://cursus.edu/fr/33051/lentonnoir-cnv-de-la-disponibilite-pour-une-gestion-de-ses-emotions
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