There is a common perception that empathy allows us to better understand others, and ultimately inspires us to form a more loving society. However, in Paul Bloom’s piece “Is Empathy Overrated?”, he argues empathy can also be narrow, biased, and surprisingly insensitive.
Bloom argues that our empathy spotlight is in fact narrow. With the understanding that our mental capacity does not allow us to meaningfully understand the issues and perspectives of millions of people, we can recognize that our spotlight for empathy can only be shone on limited targets. Bloom argues, “empathy is a spotlight, It’s a spotlight that has a narrow focus, one that shines most brightly on those we love” (Bloom 4). In other words, because we cannot possibly understand the struggles of everybody, we instead only focus on individuals.
Bloom continues to argue that our empathy spotlight only illuminates what it is pointed at, thus reflecting our biases. Bloom argues this as he states, “it’s far easier to empathize with those who are close to us, those who are similar to us, and those we see as more attractive or vulnerable and less scary” (Bloom 2). In other words, it is extremely difficult to understand a human condition that differs so drastically from our own, simply because we have no idea what other the way of life is like. Bloom is arguing that for this reason, our empathy distorts our moral judgements in a similar way that prejudice does as it is biased towards what we know and is comfortable to us (Bloom 2).
Bloom also argues that empathy is surprisingly insensitive. Empathy guides our attention to individual tragic issues but silences the issues of masses. In doing so, we fail to act in the betterment of many simply to appease a minority. As Bloom states, “This perverse moral mathematics is part of the reason why governments and individuals care more about a little girl stuck in a well than about events that will affect millions or billions. It is why outrage at the suffering of a few individuals can lead to actions, such as going to war, that have terrible consequences for many” (Bloom 4). Bloom is arguing that using our narrow spotlight of empathy actually misconstrues our understanding of what are important issues in the world.
Although Bloom creates some compelling arguments that empathy is narrow, biased, and insensitive, I must reject his overall position that the negatives of empathy outweigh the positives. Understanding the perspectives and struggles of others is in fact one of the greatest challenges we face as a world. And I would argue that the answer isn’t less empathy, it’s more! Bloom himself states, “the real problem is that we don’t have enough empathy for other people” (Bloom 3). He then insists that because we cannot open our minds to such an extent we must instead live with less empathy. Being narrow minded and not opening your heart to the struggles of others is certainly easier and more convenient than challenging yourself to see the world through different lenses. However, simply because it is challenging, cannot mean that we give up entirely in trying to understand and show love for others. Even if your empathy spotlight is narrow, if it is strong it can still make a big difference. All the struggles of the world will not be fixed by one person, or one government/organization. But together, when we all shine our spotlights on issues that are important to us, then we can illuminate all the darkness’s of this world.
