AGAINST EMPATHY: The Case for Rational Compassion | Paul Bloom, Harper Collins, p285.
A thoroughly thought-provoking tome, Bloom challenges the reader to realize the over-reliance and harm inherent in the modern obsession with empathy. He documents the violence and harm caused by empathy and the moral shortcomings it has contributed too.
Bloom, a Yale psychology professor, acknowledges the value a limited emphasis on empathy can contribute to, but argues forcefully that it is productive only when contained. He favors instead, almost unimaginably, the virtues of rational compassion.
Empathy - given that as a mere feeling - has none of the upside of moral reasoning. It may or may not provide a positive force for good; but it is contextual. It fails to rise to the ethical standard of a reliable universal. Empathy is full of bias, and like most heuristics, it may be efficient in speed but uncorrelated to reality or truth.
The author challenged my thinking in a way few others have. Against Empathy is highly recommended for those interested in moral action (versus merely feeling morally active). It will make you think; agree or disagree, please read.