When we lose that power to imagine ourselves into the being of another creature another human or in fact a caterpillar uh we we lose the capacity for empathy and that's the thing that's going to destroy us in the future if we let it.
Most of us believe that bad things happen to bad people, and good things happen to good people. We call this the 'just world hypothesis.' The problem is that it's not true — and our commitment to this belief can lead us to blame victims of misfortune, rather than help them.
Most of us are taught to care about what's happening right in front of us. The people we can see, the problems we can touch. But this focus on the near and visible may lead us to ignore vast amounts of suffering that we could address — suffering that is just as real, even if it is distant or statistical.
Most people assume that if they want to help others, they should focus on doing good in their immediate surroundings — helping neighbors, giving to local charities, volunteering in their communities. But the data suggest this impulse, while understandable, can lead us away from doing the most good we can do.
Most of us think of ourselves as moral people. We believe we care about the world, and that we would help those in need if given the chance. But what if our good intentions are actually getting in the way of doing real good? What if feeling moral is crowding out being moral?
2w ago
Underscored — save the words that stop you in your tracks.
