Summary of Paul Bloom's Against Empathy

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

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#1 Empathy is the act of coming to experience the world as someone else does. It is a common definition, but it is also used for everything from yawning contagion in dogs to patient-centered attitudes in human medicine.

#2 Empathy is the capacity to understand what another person is going through, and it can be developed and extended through the imagination. It can be a choice to empathize with others, and it can be a force for good.

#3 Empathy is discussed in response to certain public events, and it is seen as the cure for every specific problem. It is seen as the diagnosis and solution to the lack of empathy in our society.

#4 Empathy is often thought of as the magic bullet of morality, but it is actually just one of many possible motivations for good action. We can disapprove of people who shoplift or cheat on their taxes, even if there is no specific person who appreciably suffers because of their actions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669377085

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Insights on Paul Bloom's Against Empathy

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Empathy is the act of coming to experience the world as someone else does. It is a common definition, but it is also used for everything from yawning contagion in dogs to patient-centered attitudes in human medicine.

#2

Empathy is the capacity to understand what another person is going through, and it can be developed and extended through the imagination. It can be a choice to empathize with others, and it can be a force for good.

#3

Empathy is discussed in response to certain public events, and it is seen as the cure for every specific problem. It is seen as the diagnosis and solution to the lack of empathy in our society.

#4

Empathy is often thought of as the magic bullet of morality, but it is actually just one of many possible motivations for good action. We can disapprove of people who shoplift or cheat on their taxes, even if there is no specific person who appreciably suffers because of their actions.

#5

There are many sources of morality other than empathy. Some people’s decisions about what’s right and wrong are rooted in a religious worldview, while others’ are rooted in a philosophical one.

#6

There are many ways to motivate moral concern, and empathy is not the