Against Empathy The Case for Rational Compassion

The psychologist Paul Bloom, who wrote the book Against Empathy, the Case for Rational Compassion, he argues that empathy tends to be parochial and it tends to be biased.

The psychologist Paul Bloom, who wrote the book Against Empathy, the Case for Rational Compassion, he argues that empathy tends to be parochial and it tends to be biased.

Empathy is where you put yourself in somebody else's shoes sympathy is where you sympathize with somebody else's positions empathy makes you elevate certain people above other people because you're empathizing with them. So empathy can actually be a problem in politics there's a great book called Against Empathy by a psychologist all about this

there's an entire book by a guy named paul bloom who's a social scientist called against empathy the case for rational compassion right

Then we dive into Paul's previous book to talk about the difference between cognitive empathy and emotional empathy.

my book before here was a critique of empathy and argument at emotional empathy could lead us astray but what we're talking about here is cognitive empathy

my book was interested in emotional empathy feeling what other people feel so you're anxious I get anxious you're happy I get happy and I think this is going to be great could be great source of joy could be great source of personal connection but the problem is from a moral point of view if we let empathy guide us it's too narrow

the subtitle of my book against empathy is the case for rational compassion and it's a nice connection with our interests because men it mindfulness meditation argue to be one way to sort of quell empathy

So where do you think he falls on the spectrum?

He's very famous for his work on children, on development of moral emotions.

I remember when this book came out because I was talking to a friend about empathy and I got into an argument.

But here's something I thought was really interesting in Paul's book.

He talks about the negative implications that can come from empathy.

Empathy is one of the leading motivators of inequality and immorality and that far from helping us to improve the lives of others, empathy is a capricious and irrational emotion that appeals to our narrow prejudices.

Empathy he writes is a spotlight focusing on certain people in the here and now. This makes us care more about them but it leaves us insensitive to the long-term consequences of our acts and blind as well to the suffering of those we do not or cannot empathize with.

Our empathy for those close to us is a powerful force for war and atrocity toward others. It is corrosive in personal relationships, it exhausts the spirit and can diminish the force of kindness and love.