Beyond Selidor

That was really interesting. When I saw the title, I felt immediately defensive, because I'm certainly the kind of person who rather uncritically feels that empathy is a good thing, and that my preexisting capacity for empathy was enhanced and expanded by fiction. I guess what I took away from the essay is that empathy — like every other human creation — has its limits and can be misued. Seeking out misery porn as a kind of safe way to experience the real-world pain of other people is pointless unless it actually sparks actions to alleviate that pain.