Also a complete lack of empathy, which is perhaps the most terrifying thing. Empathy seems to be dead, in Australian society now (except selective empathy)
You should read the book "Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion". It points out that empathy is a terrible system to base morality on since it is pretty much selective by default. If you look carefully amongst those promoting "empathy" it is always towards certain groups, not others, and, in my view, has become a massive political weapon to drive society in a certain ways. What we need instead is "rational compassion", where we have compassion for all people, and apply this as a rational form of morality.
Another way of thinking about this is we need to step away from a "feeling-based" form of morality, which we have now, and go back to a "thinking-based" form of morality, which was the mainstay of the past (this is the form of morality that religions such as Christianity and Buddhism are based on). I also suspect that the reason "feeling-based" morality now dominates is the feminisation of society - where feelings are considered more important than actually thinking.
You should read the book "Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion". It points out that empathy is a terrible system to base morality on since it is pretty much selective by default.
I need to add that to my list, thanks. One of my personal theories has been that the expansion of empathy has led to its diminishment. As Dawkins wrote, with instant communication and globalization our circle of empathy has gotten larger and larger. But humans aren't actually capable of being empathetic towards everyone. When we see too much news about crime, injustice, and suffering, we shut down and become numb to it. In fact what we do instead is lip service to empathy. Either "I feel your pain. Oh yes, we must understand the plight of the refugees. Yes it's terrible how the LGBTQs are treated. Ugh, why is everyone so anti-Muslim?", or we do the opposite and put the target in an "out-group" so we won't have to feel empathy for them. "Haha, that dumbass should have known better not to do (whatever) if he didn't want to be a victim. That fucker was a hateful bigot and deserves what he got."
We don't actually feel the emotion of all other humans, because that's not possible nor is it the evolutionary purpose of empathy, which is to facilitate our position as social animals within well-defined tribal groups. It's also a very basic neurological function that other mammals have too. (If a cat sees you petting another cat, the first one may start purring.)
In other words people are becoming sociopaths who act like they're empathetic - but only towards specific blessed targets of oppression that may change as the regime changes.
You should read the book "Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion". It points out that empathy is a terrible system to base morality on since it is pretty much selective by default. If you look carefully amongst those promoting "empathy" it is always towards certain groups, not others, and, in my view, has become a massive political weapon to drive society in a certain ways. What we need instead is "rational compassion", where we have compassion for all people, and apply this as a rational form of morality.
Another way of thinking about this is we need to step away from a "feeling-based" form of morality, which we have now, and go back to a "thinking-based" form of morality, which was the mainstay of the past (this is the form of morality that religions such as Christianity and Buddhism are based on). I also suspect that the reason "feeling-based" morality now dominates is the feminisation of society - where feelings are considered more important than actually thinking.
I need to add that to my list, thanks. One of my personal theories has been that the expansion of empathy has led to its diminishment. As Dawkins wrote, with instant communication and globalization our circle of empathy has gotten larger and larger. But humans aren't actually capable of being empathetic towards everyone. When we see too much news about crime, injustice, and suffering, we shut down and become numb to it. In fact what we do instead is lip service to empathy. Either "I feel your pain. Oh yes, we must understand the plight of the refugees. Yes it's terrible how the LGBTQs are treated. Ugh, why is everyone so anti-Muslim?", or we do the opposite and put the target in an "out-group" so we won't have to feel empathy for them. "Haha, that dumbass should have known better not to do (whatever) if he didn't want to be a victim. That fucker was a hateful bigot and deserves what he got."
We don't actually feel the emotion of all other humans, because that's not possible nor is it the evolutionary purpose of empathy, which is to facilitate our position as social animals within well-defined tribal groups. It's also a very basic neurological function that other mammals have too. (If a cat sees you petting another cat, the first one may start purring.)
In other words people are becoming sociopaths who act like they're empathetic - but only towards specific blessed targets of oppression that may change as the regime changes.