How Empathy Blinds
On page 215, in "How Empathy Blinds," what does Bregman say Paul Bloom compares empathy to?
A spotlight.
What is Machiavelli's main philosophy in his book The Prince?
If you want power you have to take it through any means necessary, being entirely shameless and without morals.
What two things does Bregman say inspire the mechanism for people to do 'the most horrific things to each other'?
1. Fellowship(close circles) 2.Cynical strongmen (Over powerful leaders)
🌟"Good feelings like empathy never cause harm." True or False?🌟
🌟 False (they backfire in wrong situations).🌟
What was the goal of Jane Elliot's eye-color discrimination experiment?
To teach white children the concept of racism.
What were the findings of Professor Dacher Keltner's Cookie Monster Study?
When someone is randomly assigned to be the leader they will feel entitled to "take the last cookie" and not only that, but eat it very messily.
Enlightenment thinkers said that human beings have one saving grace that sets us apart from other living creatures, what is it?
Reason
🌟Bregman claims humans evolved to be cooperative and empathetic, what play on a certain popular saying does he pair with this theory?🌟
🌟"Survival of the friendliest"🌟
Why does empathy make us generalize about enemies?
We identify too closely with "our" victims.
What "nocebo" does Bregman highlight in relation to how people in power treat people that aren't in positions of power?
"treat people as if they are stupid and they'll start to feel stupid, leading rulers to reason that the masses are too dim to think for themselves and hence they - with their vision and insight - should take charge"(228).
The Enlightenment gave us equality, but what do historians say was also invented in this time?
Racism
🌟What three things does Bregman argue influence "evil" behavior in ordinary people? 🌟
🌟Authority, trust, and circumstances.🌟
How does the section describe empathy's relationship to xenophobia?
They're two sides of the same coin.
How many people are we, on average, able to have meaningful relationships with?
150 people
Bregman shows that Enlightenment philosophers had a certain nocebo that they based all their insititutions on, what is that nocebo?
'We should act as though people have a selfish nature, even though we know they don't.' (249)
🌟What does Bregman say "the road to hell is paved with"?🌟
🌟Good Intentions, meaning that to get people to do "evil" things often you have to disguise the true motive as doing a good deed.🌟
What modern-day phenomenon does Bregman compare empathy to?
The news, because it too zooms in on the exceptional rather than widespread truth.
What is the 'iron law of oligarchy'?
The tendency of peoples that have just completed a successful revolution to inevitably fall under the rule of yet another power hungry leader.
What does Bregman say we have to asks ourselves leading into Part 4 of the book?
Could things be different?
🌟What is non-complementary behaviour?🌟
🌟Responding to someone in a way that is the opposite of how they are acting, breaking the natural tendency to "mirror" or "match" emotions.🌟