What I mean by "empathy" is putting yourself in other people's shoes, feeling what they feel. — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
When people want to inspire you to turn against some group of people, they'll often use empathy. — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
Because of empathy, stories of the suffering of one person could lead us into a war that could kill millions of people. — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
If Inigo Montoya were around now, he wouldn't need to storm the castle to bring his father's murderer to justice; the police… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
It would be nice if everybody who had something interesting to say about my work could say it politely and civilly, but… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
Individuals differ in how empathic they are. Some people would really flinch if they watched me hitting my hand with a hammer,… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
I'm not a pacifist. I think the suffering of innocent people can be a catalyst for moral action. But empathy puts too… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
Too often, our concern for specific individuals today means neglecting crises that will harm countless people in the future. — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
By “empathy,” some people mean everything that is good - compassion, kindness, warmth, love, being a mensch, changing the world - and… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
Some people think that without that spark of empathy we would do nothing, but that's just flat-out wrong. You could feel compassion… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
I think we should really discourage this sort of empathic engagement when it comes to making moral decisions. I think we should… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
Relying on the face might be human nature - even babies prefer to look at attractive people. But, of course, judging someone… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
For the most part, people use "empathy" to mean everything good. For instance, many medical schools have courses in empathy. But if… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
The emotions triggered by fiction are very real. When Charles Dickens wrote about the death of Little Nell in the 1840s, people… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
I kind of like social media, and I like hearing from people. I don't like the ugly stuff, but there are some… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
It is clear that rituals and sacrifices can bring people together, and it may well be that a group that does such… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
Some of the natural world is appealing, some of it is terrifying, and some of it grosses us out. Modern people don't… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
I think we're going to care more about Americans than Africans. I don't think that's ever going to go away, and I… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
When people want to inspire you to turn against some group of people, they'll often use empathy. When Obama wanted to bomb… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
People differ in where they direct their empathy and their compassion. Many people are intensely concerned about the suffering of non-human animals,… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
It's hard to pull apart empathy from compassion. What is really clear is that we innately care for other people at least… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
The effects of Twitter and Facebook and all those things on people's psychologies is a really interesting question to which nobody knows… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
My book is going to be called Against Empathy, which may give you a feeling for where my argument is going to… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
It has been a period where people have been far nicer to one another in every possible way. I'm not saying it's… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
You might argue on utilitarian grounds that the best way for the world to work is for everybody to take care of… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
I have huge admiration for people who think like the effective altruist, who try to rationally think about how they can change… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
Enjoying fiction requires a shift in selfhood. You give up your own identity and try on the identities of other people, adopting… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
Our best hope for the future is not to get people to think of all humanity as family - that's impossible. It… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
Perhaps looking out through big baby eyes - if we could - would not be as revelatory experience as many imagine. We… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
The irrationality of disgust suggests it is unreliable as a source of moral insight. There may be good arguments against gay marriage,… — Paul Bloom Copy Share Image
I have two teenage sons, and they're both surviving, thriving, and having a great time, and they're always on social media. — Paul Bloom Copy Share
Families survive the terrible twos because toddlers aren't strong enough to kill with their hands and aren't capable of using lethal weapons. — Paul Bloom Copy Share
If Inigo Montoya were around now, he wouldn't need to storm the castle to bring his father's murderer to justice; the police would do… — Paul Bloom Copy Share
Most of us know nothing about constitutional law, so it's hardly surprising that we take sides in the Obamacare debate the way we root… — Paul Bloom Copy Share
“Being a good person likely is more related to distanced feelings of compassion and kindness, along with intelligence, self-control, and a sense of justice.… — Paul Bloom Copy Share
Imagination is Reality Lite - a useful substitute when the real pleasure is inaccessible, too risky, or too much work. — Paul Bloom Copy Share
One way to make a baby cry is to expose it to cries of other babies. There's sort of contagiousness to the crying. It's… — Paul Bloom Copy Share
I want to convince you that humans are, to some extent, natural born essentialists. What I mean by this is we don't just respond… — Paul Bloom Copy Share
The fact that something can be used for good isn't necessarily a knockdown argument for it. — Paul Bloom Copy Share
Our best hope for the future [...] lies in an appreciation of the fact that, even if we don’t empathize with distant strangers, their… — Paul Bloom Copy Share
When people want to inspire you to turn against some group of people, they'll often use empathy. When Obama wanted to bomb Syria, he… — Paul Bloom Copy Share
I'm very interested in why we do good things, or bad things, and where moral judgments come from. — Paul Bloom Copy Share
I have my own difficulty with movies in which the suffering of the characters is too real, and many find it difficult to watch… — Paul Bloom Copy Share
I think what a lot of fiction is, is the imagining of the worst so as to prepare ourselves. — Paul Bloom Copy Share
Morality is often seen as an innovation, like agriculture and writing. From this perspective, babies are pint-sized psychopaths, self-interested beings who need to be… — Paul Bloom Copy Share
