Against Empathy
Paul bloom believes people have a different interoperation of empathy. Some think of empathy as "Everything is good" along with compassion, love, morality making the world a better place. Which he says he has nothing against. Some use empathy as a way to describe the understanding of what people think and feel, which he isn't against. What he's concerned about about is what author Leslie Jamison's sees empathy as. Putting yourself in the shoes of others and sharing feelings. "I think empathy is like a spot light, it zooms in on peoples and when it zooms in on people you're more likely to help. Like a spot light you cab point it in the wrong way"(Paul Bloom). He gives an example about an eight year old girl who is going to die but there's a treatment you can give her that will alleviate her pain. The problem is she's low on the list. The question asked is should she get moved up the list knowing if she does another kid will go off of it. Some say NO! The others are told to put themselves in her shoes to feel her pain and the response shift the other direction. Paul Bloom believes Empathy bias. In his this video he says " People think someone like me would feel more empathy for a white person rather than a black person. All of us feel more empathy for those who are more attractive. We feel no empathy for those who disgusts us." A hypothetical example about empathy being bias he discusses is about a vaccine in New York . A little girl gets extremely sick and dies. The vaccine program will be shut down even if it turns out that this vaccine program was helping save the lives of many kid. It would shut down because you would feel empathy for the family of a girl who suffers for the girl herself, but you can't feel empathy for the statistical fact that people would of died but didn't.
Buy his book: Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion
Paul Bloom: Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion (Video)
Paul bloom believes people have a different interoperation of empathy. Some think of empathy as "Everything is good" along with compassion, love, morality making the world a better place. Which he says he has nothing against. Some use empathy as a way to describe the understanding of what people think and feel, which he isn't against. What he's concerned about about is what author Leslie Jamison's sees empathy as. Putting yourself in the shoes of others and sharing feelings. "I think empathy is like a spot light, it zooms in on peoples and when it zooms in on people you're more likely to help. Like a spot light you cab point it in the wrong way"(Paul Bloom). He gives an example about an eight year old girl who is going to die but there's a treatment you can give her that will alleviate her pain. The problem is she's low on the list. The question asked is should she get moved up the list knowing if she does another kid will go off of it. Some say NO! The others are told to put themselves in her shoes to feel her pain and the response shift the other direction. Paul Bloom believes Empathy bias. In his this video he says " People think someone like me would feel more empathy for a white person rather than a black person. All of us feel more empathy for those who are more attractive. We feel no empathy for those who disgusts us." A hypothetical example about empathy being bias he discusses is about a vaccine in New York . A little girl gets extremely sick and dies. The vaccine program will be shut down even if it turns out that this vaccine program was helping save the lives of many kid. It would shut down because you would feel empathy for the family of a girl who suffers for the girl herself, but you can't feel empathy for the statistical fact that people would of died but didn't.
Buy his book: Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion
Paul Bloom: Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion (Video)
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