Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion

I think it’s telling that throughout this book the author in constantly having to backtrack and clarify what he means by empathy. Compassion and caring are desirable close cousins to empathy, but the big E itself is overrated. He eventually makes his point that calm, reasoned thinking is a better approach to decision-making than feeling someone’s pain. It’s a hard pill to swallow, and I don’t think I’m completely sold on the idea. But, for the most part, his case is solid, especially when talking about broader policy choices.