Our ability to apply empathy selectively is the root cause of most of the evil in the world. I myself struggle to understand why some things when they happen to some people move me so deeply, but when similar things happen to others I feel much less. I obviously don't choose to behaviour in this way, but that seems to be how we are wired.
I guess the difference is that I'm aware of it and I try to fight it. The ability to empathise with those whom you disagree with or share little in common with is a skill that can be learnt, and one we should try to teach to our children. And I mean this in its most extreme sense. If you can't empathise with someone you find truly bad/evil, that's a problem because we can always view others as bad/evil if it allows us to justify our lack of empathy towards them. Typically its those who we believe instinctively deserve the least empathy which we must proactively try our hardest to understand and care about. You see this all the time in war – they're the bad guys and deserve the bad things we do.
Unfortunately I'm not sure how practical what I'm saying is at its limit. Something you quickly realise when you practise being empathetic to everyone is that people will take advantage of that. But still, as a trend the world would be much a better place if more people could see past differences and care for the suffering of people equally.
I guess the difference is that I'm aware of it and I try to fight it. The ability to empathise with those whom you disagree with or share little in common with is a skill that can be learnt, and one we should try to teach to our children. And I mean this in its most extreme sense. If you can't empathise with someone you find truly bad/evil, that's a problem because we can always view others as bad/evil if it allows us to justify our lack of empathy towards them. Typically its those who we believe instinctively deserve the least empathy which we must proactively try our hardest to understand and care about. You see this all the time in war – they're the bad guys and deserve the bad things we do.
Unfortunately I'm not sure how practical what I'm saying is at its limit. Something you quickly realise when you practise being empathetic to everyone is that people will take advantage of that. But still, as a trend the world would be much a better place if more people could see past differences and care for the suffering of people equally.