Paul Bloom's Against Empathy and The Sweet Spot

Why we care about the Titanic submarine

Speaking of Paul Bloom, he has a couple interesting books I’ve read. The first I read was Against Empathy. He points out the irrational bias of our empathy and how it can misguide us. The recent Titanic submarine event is a perfect example of it. The world was captivated by this little vessel for multiple days. Meanwhile, a boat full of migrants in the Mediterranean had capsized and hundreds went missing. That had barely made the news (except for the fact that people started reporting on the lack of coverage that it got compared to the Titanic). The point isn’t that we shouldn’t care about the Titanic, but to notice that there is a disproportionate difference, and that our empathy misguides us sometimes to worry about the wrong things.

His more recent book, “The Sweet Spot,” discusses why we enjoy suffering, and why suffering gives achievements for meaning. This is another irrational thing we do. We ascribe more meaning if someone suffers for something. Again, the point is to notice these things, not necessarily ignore them. So the sweet spot is embracing that the suffering can provide us with pleasure. Exercise, hard work, meditation, etc require some sort of suffering.

I find that not eating dairy and meat can be torturous. But at the same time that gives me meaning, which makes it very sustainable. Do I actually make an impact on the world? Probably not, but the ‘sacrifice’ gives me peace of mind.