Bloom argues that reason combined with compassion is a better and more effective guide to making the world a better place. Many of our wisest policy-makers, activists, scientists, and philosophers agree that the only problem with empathy is that we don’t have enough of it. In AGAINST EMPATHY, Bloom reveals empathy to be one of the leading motivators of inequality and immorality in society. Leslie: You say that telling people you were writing a book against empathy was like telling people you were writing a book against kittens. In his 2016 book “Against Empathy,” the psychologist Paul Bloom argued that empathy can cloud rational judgment and skews toward people “who are close to … The title of Paul Bloom's latest book may ruffle a few feathers; it's called Against Empathy. He's wearing a gray suit, yellow shirt, and striped yellow and blue tie. Cognitive psychologist Paul Bloom believes “empathy” often causes more suffering than it cures. Paul Bloom. To Read the Full Story That’s because no one needs to: Empathy is an unalloyed good, like sunshine or cake or free valet parking. Two new studies suggest there is confusion around its meaning – and its usefulness in creating a more caring society. .orange-text-color {font-weight:bold; color: #FE971E;}View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look. I think empathy is a great for all sorts of things. It's a spotlight focusing on certain people in the here and now. Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2017. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Paul Bloom Paul Bloom is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor of Psychology at Yale University. Bloom, it should be said, is not in favour of an indifferent heartlessness. That is a quote from Paul Bloom, who views empathy as leading us to do both good and evil. Bloom doesn’t go as far as this, but believes that rather than claiming emotional identification we should be cultivating our ability to stand back in order to provide a more rationally effective programme of care. Basing his argument on groundbreaking scientific findings, Bloom makes the case that some of the worst decisions made by individuals and nations—whom to give money to, when to go to war, how to respond to climate change, and whom to imprison—are too often motivated by honest, yet misplaced, emotions. Empathy sometimes also has negative consequences, so we act too emotionally and thus unjustifiably. How has this resistance been useful? - Paul Bloom, Against Empathy I'm a sucker for pop psychology or moral philosophy or moral politics books. We are at our best when we are smart enough not to rely on it but to draw instead upon a more distanced compassion. Paul Bloom is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor of Psychology at Yale University.His latest book is Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. Bloom cites the character of O’Brien in Orwell’s 1984, whose capacity to discern his victim’s responses is exquisitely refined: “‘You are afraid,’ said O’Brien, watching his face, ‘that in another moment something is going to break. Paul Bloom is a well-known psychologist and author who wrote the provocatively-titled book Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion, and is currently writing a book about the nature of cruelty. What's the trouble with empathy? He leverages a heady, entertaining combination of philosophy, scientific research and anecdotes to argue that empathy-driven decisions frequently run counter to reason. Empathy, he suggests, narrows our focus in a self-regarding way – there is sustained evidence that we empathise more with those that either resemble us or those we find attractive. The picture of five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, pulled from the rubble in Aleppo, prompted widespread breast-beating, but Bloom would be sceptical of this having much effect on our willingness to give aid to Omran’s equally affected – but unknown – fellow citizens. Without empathy, Bloom insists, our decisions would be clearer, fairer, and—yes—ultimately more moral. "Daring Greatly") on living a wholehearted life and how empathy plays a key role in this, I thought it would be a worthwhile intellectual challenge to read something that goes against that thought. Compassion, however, is about feeling warm and positive about others and feeling for someone, not feeling with them. But empathy is surprisingly bad at making us good. Paul Bloom on why we should feel less. Leslie: What's the difference between empathy and compassion? I'm referring here to concern for others, wanting their pain to go away, wanting their lives to improve—but without the shared emotional experience that's so central to empathy. It’s a wonderful source of pleasure, for instance. Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion is a 2016 book written by psychologist Paul Bloom. "Empathy is what makes us human; it's what makes us both subjects and objects of moral concern. Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion is a deliberately maverick work – astringent, provocative, often witty and unabashedly against a prevailing culture that places so high a premium on the virtue of empathy that at least 1,500 books available through Amazon apparently have a version of the word in their title. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 17, 2018. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. To order copies for £16.14 and £14.44 respectively, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Paul Bloom: I’ve heard there’s been a drop in self-reported empathy in the last 20 years, and I honestly don’t know what to make of it. He’s against it. I am staunchly with Bloom here: it is undoubtedly a valuable gift, but only provided it is fortified by a prior rational moral position and appropriately judged action. According to … ― Paul Bloom, Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion. There has been much research into the seeming capacity of small children to respond empathetically, but what children appear to feel is not so much empathy, when they perceive someone in distress, as sympathy. To understand the limitations of empathy’s benefits, we must first get clear on what “empathy” really is. Paul Bloom freely admits that taking a stance against empathy is a position that most people will shun. 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