Against Empathy - by Paul Bloom (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Like a tough-to-crack case against an idea that most of us have long known is key to repairing the world... will legitimately change how you think about the world and your own sense of morality." --New York Magazine

New York Post Best Book of the Year

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 AGAINST EMPATHY, Bloom reveals empathy to be 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. It muddles our judgment and, ironically, often leads to cruelty. We are at our best when we are smart enough not to rely on it, but to draw instead upon a more distanced compassion.

Basing his argument on groundbreaking scientific findings, Bloom makes the case that some of the worst decisions made by individuals and nations--who to give money to, when to go to war, how to respond to climate change, and who to imprison--are too often motivated by honest, yet misplaced, emotions. With precision and wit, he demonstrates how empathy distorts our judgment in every aspect of our lives, from philanthropy and charity to the justice system; from medical care and education to parenting and marriage. Without empathy, Bloom insists, our decisions would be clearer, fairer, and--yes--ultimately more moral.

Brilliantly argued, urgent and humane, AGAINST EMPATHY shows us that, when it comes to both major policy decisions and the choices we make in our everyday lives, limiting our impulse toward empathy is often the most compassionate choice we can make.

From the Back Cover

A controversial call to arms by one of the world's leading psychologists, Against Empathy reveals how the natural impulse to share the feelings of others leads to cruel and irrational behavior on both the world stage and at home. With precision and wit, Paul Bloom demonstrates how empathy distorts our judgment in every aspect of our lives, from philanthropy and charity to the justice system; from medical care and education to parenting and marriage. Without empathy, Bloom insists, our decisions would be clearer, fairer, and--yes--ultimately more moral.

Review Quotes

"Despite a near consensus about its merits, Bloom shows that empathy is often just the warm embrace of prejudice-and, like anger, a reliable source of moral confusion. . . . a thrilling book, and reading it could well make you a better person." - Sam Harris, author of the New York Times bestsellers The End of Faith, The Moral Landscape, and Waking Up
"It's not often that we come across a scientific argument that can help solve our most pressing moral and political problems-but, in Against Empathy, Paul Bloom has produced one. Despite a near consensus about its merits, Bloom shows that empathy is often just the warm embrace of prejudice-and, like anger, a reliable source of moral confusion. There is more to being good than feeling the pain of others, and feeling such pain often produces unconscionable harm. Against Empathy is a thrilling book, and reading it could well make you a better person." - Sam Harris, author of the New York Times bestsellers The End of Faith, The Moral Landscape, and Waking Up
"I couldn't put this brilliantly argued book down." - Amy Chua, Yale Law Professor and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and The Triple Package
"I couldn't put this brilliantly argued book down. Engaging and witty, learned and stimulating, provocative and packed with cutting-edge findings, Against Empathy is sure to start many important debates."- - Amy Chua, Yale Law Professor and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and The Triple Package
"A lucidly argued tract about the hazards of good intentions." - Vox
"Bloom argues that when it comes to helping one another, our emotions too often spoil everything. Instead of leading us to make smart decisions about how best to use our limited resources altruistically, they cause us to focus on what makes us feel good in the moment. We worry about the boy stuck in the well rather than the thousands of boys dying of malnutrition every day." - Chronicle of Higher Education
"An invigorating, relevant and often very funny re-evaluation of empathy, one of our culture's most ubiquitous sacred cows, which in Mr. Bloom's view should be gently led to the abattoir." - New York Times
"A nuanced foray into some fraught grey areas." - Nature
"Mr. Bloom is undoubtedly right that empathy alone makes for bad policy: While it can motivate us to care, we need reason to help us design and implement policies aimed at reducing suffering." - Wall Street Journal
"Like a tough-to-crack case against an idea that most of us have long known is key to repairing the world... will legitimately change how you think about the world and your own sense of morality." - New York Magazine
"The title may shock, but this is a book of calm reason and expansive compassion. It's also a pleasure to read: warm, lucid, and thought-provoking." - Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature
"An intriguing counterattack to modern psychological cynicism." - Kirkus
"Refreshing." - Library Journal
"Provocative . . . In a time of post-truth politics, his book offers a much-needed call for facts." - The Economist
"One of the most thought-provoking and convincing books I've read. Bloom's logic is compelling, his prose fluid, and his deep humanity and compassion always evident. A must-read for those who want an alternative to a world where emotional gambits reign supreme--for better and often, for worse." - Maria Konnivkova, author of The Confidence Game
"Cleverly contrarian..." - New York Post
"Bloom's more positive view of the role of reason fits with what I take to be the correct understanding of ethics." - Project Syndicate