Against Empathy : The Case for Rational Compassion

Resumen del libro

In a divided world, empathy is not the solution, it is the problem; a source of prejudice, not kindness. We think of empathy - the ability to feel the suffering of others for ourselves - as the ultimate source of all good behaviour. But while it inspires care and protection in personal relationships, it has the opposite effect in the wider world.

As the latest research in psychology and neuroscience shows, we feel empathy most for those we find attractive and who seem similar to us and not at all for those who are different, distant or anonymous. Empathy therefore biases us in favour of individuals we know while numbing us to the plight of thousands. Guiding us expertly through the experiments, case studies and arguments on all sides, Paul Bloom ultimately reveals that some of our worst decisions - in charity, child-raising, criminal justice, climate change and war - are motivated by this wolf in sheep's clothing.

Brilliantly argued, urgent and humane, Against Empathy overturns widely held assumptions to reveal one of the most profound yet overlooked sources of human conflict. It demonstrates with absolute clarity that, when faced with moral decisions, we must choose reason and compassion, not empathy, as our guides.

Biografía del autor

Paul Bloom es profesor de Psicología en la Universidad de Toronto y profesor emérito Brooks y Suzanne Ragen de Psicología en la Universidad de Yale. Su investigación está centrada en el desarrollo cognitivo de los niños y en el estudio del placer, la moral, la religión y la psicología de la ficción y el arte.<br> Ha sido presidente de la Sociedad de Filosofía y Psicología y coeditor de la revista Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Ha recibido múltiples premios y reconocimientos por su labor investigadora y pedagógica, incluido el prestigioso premio de investigación Klaus J. Jacobs en 2017, valorado en un millón de dólares.<br> Ha participado en publicaciones científicas como Nature y Science, colabora en medios generalistas como The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker y The Atlantic, y ha sido conferenciante TED. Es autor de siete libros, entre los que se encuentran Contra la empatía (Taurus, 2018) y Just Babies (Crown Pub, 2013).