![]() ![]() ![]() To empathize with someone is to put yourself in her shoes, to feel her pain. The word “empathy” is used in many ways, but here I am adopting its most common meaning, which corresponds to what eighteenth-century philosophers such as Adam Smith called “sympathy.” It refers to the process of experiencing the world as others do, or at least as you think they do. My claim is actually the opposite: if you want to be good and do good, empathy is a poor guide. And so I’ve learned to clarify, to explain that I am not against morality, compassion, kindness, love, being a good neighbor, doing the right thing, and making the world a better place. This reaction surprised me at first, but I’ve come to realize that taking a position against empathy is like announcing that you hate kittens-a statement so outlandish it can only be a joke. People tend to smile and nod, and then I add, “I’m against it.” This usually gets an uncomfortable laugh. When asked what I am working on, I often say I am writing a book about empathy. ![]()
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