Are we being manipulated into caring less about each other? While there is some merit in the notion that caring can be difficult, the repeated attacks on empathy are both ignorant and harmful - to us as individuals and society as a whole.
This episode cuts through the pseudoscience and half-baked notions, including the made-up term “suicidal empathy,” to reveal what this rhetoric truly aims to achieve.
We dive deep into the real science of empathy. As a crucial neurological function essential for human cooperation and survival, to diminish it is to diminish our ability to relate to each other.
Lastly, we discuss the conditions when compassion can lead to burnout and ‘compassion fatigue’, and discuss ways to prevent this.
This is a useful listen for anyone invested in ethics, humanity, and the future of cooperation in society.
The podcast expands on the ideas raised in these two articles:
The War on Empathy
Not only is the War On Empathy an attempt to make us all a bit less humane, the entire intellectual justification behind it is riddled with pseudoscientific terminology and half-baked notions.
The War on Empathy Pt. 2
I wrote yesterday about the War on Empathy; that there is a concerted effort by fascists, oligarchs, and sociopaths to diminish our connection with each other. It is, of course, easier to sow division and weaken the power of the community if we are all less connected with each other. And while they seem grossly ignorant of what empathy actually is, th…
Empathy, War on Empathy, Elon Musk, Suicidal Empathy, Morality, Ethics, Civilization, Cooperation, Neurological Function, Psychopathy, Social Commentary, Intellectual Debate.
