Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion

A controversial call to arms, Against Empathy argues that the natural impulse to share the feelings of others can lead to immoral choices in both public policy andin our intimate relationships with friends and family.

Most people, including many policy makers, activists, scientists, and philosophers, have encouraged us to be more empathetic-to feel the pain and pleasure of others. Yale researcher and author Paul Bloom argues that this is a mistake. Far from leading us to improve the lives of...