Thread by @KathrynMorgan_2

In another ace lecture on people and change with @nmgilbride, we discussed Paul Bloom’s Against Empathy and considered the limitations of empathy as a guide to moral reasoning. I’ve been reading up on Bloom’s Rational Compassion.

It’s fascinating stuff-GEEKY thread below👇🏻

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Empathy induces us to identify with a situ of a single person, referred to as shoe-shifting. However, we can’t shoe-shift for multiple people so we tend to see the world from the perspective of one person. This will be biased and personal to our own personal perspective.

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Empathy can limit our thinking to only the present rather than considering the future. It leads to the overrating of present costs and benefits and to the underrating of future costs and benefits. This means empathy is not only innumerate, it is also myopic.

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The people we chose to feel empathy tend to reflect our own biases, prejudices and parochial concerns. We find it easy to feel empathy for people we identify with. This can make empathy innumerate, myopic and prejudiced.

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Empathy can be exploited and used to incite an emotional rather than rational response. Empathy can be innumerate, myopic, biased and overly emotional.

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Whilst empathy can – and does – promote caring, altruism etc., it can also render our altruistic acts less effective. There can be a selfish dimension to empathic care. When we feel the frustration of others, we act to reduce our own pain or frustration that we...

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experience vicariously – rather than out of care for the other person. So not only is empathy innumerate, myopic, biased, emotional, empathy can be ineffective and sometimes selfish as well.

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Against Empathy concludes that empathy is a poor compass for decision making and choices, esp those with a moral pull/influence. Instead, Bloom proposes we should replace empathy with “rational compassion”-objective, logical analysis of costs and benefits, grounded in...

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...a sympathetic but detached and dispassionate concern for the wellbeing of others. Only by removing our emotional involvement with others can we make rational decisions about how to best meet needs.

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Bloom’s rational compassion can help us to weigh up our emotional responses and prevent us from letting our emotions lead us blindly.

Lots to consider through a school leadership lens.

Nifty summary👇🏻
brandgenetics.com/speed-summary-…

Ace podcast: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/rat…

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