Pesach VIII ~ Memory and Spiritual Growth

Hamurabi's Codex (1728-1686 BCE) epilogue

So that the strong might not oppress the weak (and so as)

To give justice to the orphaned (homeless) girl and to the widow.

I was a father to the orphans,

a helper of the widows.

(Found in an inscription of Montuwser, a steward of Pharaoh Sesostris I, who ruled from 1971 BCE to 1926 BCE)

In an epic story, King Keret, who has fallen seriously ill, is confronted by his grasping son with these words: "You did not judge the cause of the widow, you did not adjudicate the case of the wretched, you did not drive out them that preyed upon the poor; you did not feed the orphan before you or the widow behind you. Since you've become a brother of the sickbed, a companion of the bed of suffering, come down from the kingship I will be king I will sit in your authority!" (Text found by Gordon, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, ~ 1000 BCE)

For the last couple of years, when people ask me what I’ve been up to, I say that I’m writing a book. They ask for details and I tell them, “It’s about empathy.” They tend to smile and nod when I say the word, and then I add: “I’m against it.”

This usually gets a laugh. I was surprised at this response at first, but I’ve learned that being against empathy is like being against kittens—a view considered so outlandish that it can’t be serious. It’s certainly a position that’s easy to misunderstand. So I’ll be clear from the start: I am not against morality, compassion, kindness, love, being a good neighbor, being a mensch, and doing the right thing. Actually, I’m writing this book because I’m for all those things. I want to make the world a better place. I’ve just come to believe that relying on empathy is the wrong way to do it. (Paul Bloom, Against Empathy, introduction)

Bloom gives five reasons:

1. Empathy induces us to identify with the situation, task or challenge of a single person; you can’t shoe-shift into the shoes of multiple people. Empathy means we can be transfixed by the plight of a single baby girl stuck in a well (Jessica McClure, Texas, 1987) or missing (Madeleine McCann, 2007), but indifferent to thousands of faceless and preventable deaths. This is known as the “identifiable victim effect” - we tend to give too much to one single person in detriment of all the others in a similar plight.
2. Empathy can be blind to concerns of future generations – such as those who may suffer from the consequences of global warming.
3. Empathy tends to reflect our own biases, prejudices and parochial concerns. We find it easy to feel empathy for people we identify with, the people like us, but it’s more difficult with strangers. This can make empathy prejudiced.
4. Empathy can be exploited and used to incite an emotional rather than rational response: feeling the pain or injustice of another can motivate an emotional, irrational or violent responses. Think media images and ‘human interest’ stories of a particular individual’s plight used to justify war or incite anti-immigrations sentiment.
5. Empathy can promote caring and altruism but because of all the above it renders our altruistic acts less effective. This is because empathic action is guided by emotional impact, rather than the material impact of what we do.