Title: Against empathy : the case for rational compassion /
Authors: Bloom, Paul, 1963-
Year: 2016
Subjects: Empathy; Caring; PSYCHOLOGY / Social Psychology.; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology.; Empathy
Abstract: "We often think of our capacity to experience the suffering of others as the ultimate source of goodness. 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. Nothing could be farther from the truth, argues Yale researcher Paul Bloom. In [this book], Bloom [posits that] empathy [is] one of the leading motivators of inequality and immorality in society. Far from helping us to improve the lives of others, empathy is a capricious and irrational emotion that appeals to our narrow prejudices"--Dust jacket flap.
Contents: Other people's shoes -- The anatomy of empathy -- Doing good -- The politics of empathy -- Intimacy -- Empathy as the foundation of morality -- Violence and cruelty -- Age of reason.