"Pathological enpathy" is an excellent characterization. It explains why really smart and decent leftists get suckered by transgenderism or engage in extreme Covid theatre.
I think "empathy" is an illusion, just a projection of yourself onto someone else. You can never know how another person feels or experience that person's feelings, even if you've been in the same situation.
I prefer to think of it as, "We are all unique." Ideas like "sympathy" and "compassion" recognize the other person as other, not-me, but the concept of "empathy" puts my imagination of the other person over whatever the other person subjectively experiences.
While it's true that you can never completely stand in one's shoes or occupy one's mind, I don't think this renders empathy an illusion. It's a real phenomenon that civilized people (and even some animals) feel, sometimes very intensely.
Isaiah Berlin once remarked that the key characteristic of liberalism was empathy. I agree with him.
Great article which adeptly explains much of the psyche of our left-lib-progressive metropolitans. I find the concept of ‘permission structure’ to be illuminating. I had often wondered why it was that certain things got their rag while other comparable or parallel manifestations would draw a shrug or even a complete blank. Now I have more of an inkling, so thank you for that, Ed.
Bingo on status. Humans, particularly young men, seek status through boneheaded stupidity between the ages of 13 and 25, when testosterone kicks in and makesus hyper-aware of status, but before the prefrontal cortex has developed enough for us to manipulate our way to status through subtler means. Lots of young men seeking status leads to high crime. I was just reading about Sweden, where lots of young male immigrants have been turning the country to the political right with a crime wave -- because as immigrants, they lack status, and pursue it through boneheaded stupidity.
This is a superb article and so enlightening. Groupishness dictates a lot of outwardly expressed liberal opinion, while the private mind waits for permission to detract. This may be why quitting Twitter & living as an expat in relative solitude put this instinctive leftist in touch with his inner conservative, in the absence of permission structures in the original culture.
I actually pre-empted DeSantis years ago by writing in the Spectator that everyone entering illegal and claiming asylum should be housed in temporary homes on Hampstead Heath (even though I live quite close). The Channel problem would be solved one way or another within days, if not weeks.
"Pathological enpathy" is an excellent characterization. It explains why really smart and decent leftists get suckered by transgenderism or engage in extreme Covid theatre.
I think "empathy" is an illusion, just a projection of yourself onto someone else. You can never know how another person feels or experience that person's feelings, even if you've been in the same situation.
that's very existential
we are all alone...
I prefer to think of it as, "We are all unique." Ideas like "sympathy" and "compassion" recognize the other person as other, not-me, but the concept of "empathy" puts my imagination of the other person over whatever the other person subjectively experiences.
While it's true that you can never completely stand in one's shoes or occupy one's mind, I don't think this renders empathy an illusion. It's a real phenomenon that civilized people (and even some animals) feel, sometimes very intensely.
Isaiah Berlin once remarked that the key characteristic of liberalism was empathy. I agree with him.
Great article which adeptly explains much of the psyche of our left-lib-progressive metropolitans. I find the concept of ‘permission structure’ to be illuminating. I had often wondered why it was that certain things got their rag while other comparable or parallel manifestations would draw a shrug or even a complete blank. Now I have more of an inkling, so thank you for that, Ed.
you're welcome!
Bingo on status. Humans, particularly young men, seek status through boneheaded stupidity between the ages of 13 and 25, when testosterone kicks in and makesus hyper-aware of status, but before the prefrontal cortex has developed enough for us to manipulate our way to status through subtler means. Lots of young men seeking status leads to high crime. I was just reading about Sweden, where lots of young male immigrants have been turning the country to the political right with a crime wave -- because as immigrants, they lack status, and pursue it through boneheaded stupidity.
It's actually kind of impressive how far liberals will go to avoid being seen to agree with someone like me.
The ubiquitous "X is quite deranged and fascist-adjacent, but s/he is right about ..."-style tweets are permission structure manifestations.
Excellent. I always thought the foreign owned empty London properties stuff seemed a weird thing to focus on, and you might have given the reason.
This is a superb article and so enlightening. Groupishness dictates a lot of outwardly expressed liberal opinion, while the private mind waits for permission to detract. This may be why quitting Twitter & living as an expat in relative solitude put this instinctive leftist in touch with his inner conservative, in the absence of permission structures in the original culture.
thank you Mike!
Maybe I missed it, but why do you think this is happening now?
I think the sheer size of university attendance is probably the biggest factor.
I actually pre-empted DeSantis years ago by writing in the Spectator that everyone entering illegal and claiming asylum should be housed in temporary homes on Hampstead Heath (even though I live quite close). The Channel problem would be solved one way or another within days, if not weeks.