1. In two healthy paragraphs, summarize the piece AND show (with framed) quotes from the text) what you believe to be the author’s three main points/arguments. Support with textual evidence.

“Is Empathy Overrated” by Paul Bloom challenges not empathy but the morals around empathy. He doesn’t believe empathy is necessarily bad but rather the way it is distributed and applied to society. He believes that empathy has a narrow focus, making people focus on a single individual or group rather than the many others that need it. I think it relates back to what Konnikova was saying in “Limits of Friendship” about how you only have so much intellectual capacity to use when focusing on people. Relating empathy to the different layers of friends, people may drift away or completely fall out of your intellectual space, in this case out of your empathy spotlight. Bloom also believes that, “Empathy is limited as well in that it focuses on specific individuals” (2). He mentions that the support can even be overwhelming when the spotlight is focused on unordinary events that catch our eye and make us want to support. 

Bloom strongly believes that, “what really matters for kindness in our everyday interactions is not empathy but capacities such as self-control and intelligence and more diffuse compassion”(4). What he means in his final point is that if you take on other people’s suffering yourself, you may be less effective at supporting them in the long term, since reaching lasting goals often involves causing some short-term discomfort (Bloom 4). Overall, he makes many points about empathy being overrated but these three stuck with me and held the most value to my moral compass.

  1. Do you agree with Bloom’s main arguments? Why or why not?

I do agree with Bloom’s main arguments. I didn’t at first. I didn’t agree with his second point, “Further, spotlights only illuminate what they are pointed at, so empathy reflects our biases” (2). I didn’t believe that this was true because I believe that empathy is directed towards stories of hardship that are popular. I feel like not all stories are told, which keep these people who need help in the dark on the outskirts of the spotlight. However he followed it up with his third point combatting my opposed thoughts. He followed it up with, “Empathy is limited as well in that it focuses on specific individuals” (2). I took away that the media doesn’t highlight all stories because they only want to post or write up stories that drive numbers. By trying to relate the stories they push to the people we know and love.

  1. In what ways does Bloom challenge your initial understanding or perception regarding empathy?

Bloom challenges my initial perception of empathy. I’ve known of empathy and how it impacts those in need, but I did not understand that there are so many people that need it. By showing the reader that empathy is indeed important but telling us we are using it wrong, Paul Bloom is stoking the discussion and spreading awareness about how we can improve the ways we use empathy as a society.

  1. Find one claim Bloom makes that evoked a strong response. Paste the direct quote from his piece, then write a few sentences in which you challenge OR support his claim in your own words and experience(s).

“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)

After quoting this he then brings in race. I feel like personally when I give empathy towards a person it doesn’t matter their race. I am more inclined to show empathy towards someone who makes me feel comfortable. Like giving money to homeless people, if they are bent over and have scabs on them I may feel scared so I feel that I don’t show them as much empathy as I would to a homeless person with a smile on their face and somewhat put together. I am not saying that the person bent over covered with scabs doesn’t deserve empathy, but I would definitely feel uncomfortable helping them out. I feel that race isn’t a driving factor when I am giving out my empathy.

  1. Jot down one specific discussion question (related to the reading) and bring to class to help spark conversation

According to Bloom, it is easier for us to empathize with those who are close and similar to ourselves. Does this mean empathy is shared equally in society as there is a variety of people, or do you think empathy is disproportionately shared among society due to social classes and what society deems as commonly shared characteristics and values?

As Bloom claims we are more likely to empathize with others we relate to, this is a mirror of our own experiences and values. When we can’t relate to others pain and can’t empathize with someone because of their appearance and differences, does this cause an empathy deficit in certain populations in society and if so how can we help reduce this or is this lack of empathy for certain populations something worth addressing?