heh heh... let me take the contrarian view and we’ll see how it goes.
ZERO empathy is definitely a bad thing — but EXCESSIVE empathy is just as bad. Especially when it’s accompanied by a lack of thinking and analysis skills.
Think about it: by definition, “empathy” is what leads one to identify with another individual or group and “feel their pain”.
But excessive raw empathy is too easily manipulated by those skillful at painting a picture of a group (say, illegal aliens?) by picking an anecdotal example and playing on individual’s empathy to encourage them to draw the conclusion that ALL people of the group (i.e. ALL illegal aliens) are pathetic victims.
Isn’t this one of the main problem with liberals? That they emphasize undiscriminated “feelings” at the expense of rational thought?
No, give me a university system that trains minds to THINK and ANALYZE — hopefully without tearing down every shred of empathy.
Just my 2c
We agree that excessive empathy, unchecked by reason, a bad thing. To many people move by emotions, and think that as long as something ‘feels’ right it is right. It is a quick trip into a moral cesspool.
However I don’t agree that lacking empathy equates to greater thoughtfulness and rationality. Those who lack empathy can feign at “feeling your pain” however they can also be the ones who expect sympathy for their pain out of proportion to what they show others. The emotional imbalance that makes one lack empathy will also make them easy to manipulate for what they perceive as individual gain.