The Potential Dangers Of Empathy

Empathy may not be evil, but neither is it inherently good, and it is in fact both unnecessary and even potentially harmful.  There are two potential dangers of empathy: 1) the possibility that empathy will actually discourage someone from acting justly and 2) the possibility that empathy will open up the ones experiencing it to great emotional harm.  Amidst all the praise (much of it empty) given to empathy, these possible negative effects are often overlooked.

Regarding the first danger, it is better to be a moralistic sociopath than it is to have a conscience that is misguided.  Sociopathy is advantageous as long as it is handled properly, as a sociopath has no inner sense of morality that might compel them to act in a manner that contradicts morality itself.  Even without empathy, a sociopath could still sympathize with other people, as the latter does not require the former; sympathy requires only an intellectual understanding of another being and its experiences, while empathy cannot exist without an emotional/personal sense of what another being is experiencing.

The second danger of empathy, like the first, is almost completely ignored across human civilizations.  When a person opens himself or herself up to the experience of another person's pain, they might be moved to action, but they might just as well be emotionally drained by the experience.  This ultimately leads to the psychological suffering of multiple people.  Empathy, while it might motivate someone to alleviate the pain of another person, could also cripple the empathizer and worsen the situation for everyone involved.  To prevent this from occurring, one could always simply limit the number of people with whom one will intentionally form an empathetic connection.

Empathy can certainly be helpful for some people in select circumstances.  However, it is far from the morally necessary thing that many mistake it for.  An emotional connection with another's suffering does not make a person just, consistent, or rational, and might ultimately lead them to act in ways that are unjust, inconsistent, and irrational.  The possible side effect of amplifying instead of reducing suffering means that empathy can even be counterproductive.  While empathy does not have to produce any of these results, these possibilities must be guarded against to ensure proper personal flourishing.