Why Empathy is Essential—and Endangered

Our last round of recommendations focused on books that celebrate compassion and understanding. This week we will be continuing that theme, but with a bit of a twist.

Generally speaking, we need to have a basic understanding of the ins and outs of an activity or skill before so we can practice and become better. This is true academically and professionally, so why wouldn’t it also be true personally and emotionally? Perhaps in order to be truly empathic, we need to think more about what empathy is and where it comes from.

With that in mind, this week’s recommendations delve more deeply into the nature of compassion and raise questions like, “Are feelings of empathy innate or learned?” and “Are humans the only species capable of feeling compassion?” Some of the following books are novels, while others are non-fiction; all, however, are guaranteed to make you think.

An Invisible Thread, by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski

An Invisible Thread is a remarkable book for many reasons—not the least of which is that it tells a true story—but perhaps the most important thing to take away from it is the notion that compassion isn’t always about grand gestures; sometimes, it’s simply a matter of everyday kindnesses that show you care, like packing a school lunch for a child.

The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society, by Frans de Waal

Besides being a refreshingly readable work of non-fiction, The Age of Empathy is also a welcome relief from more cynical theories of human nature; de Waal suggests that compassion and altruism are instinctive feelings/behaviors, both in humans and in nature as a whole.

The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel, by Garth Stein

It’s not often that you come across a novel narrated by a dog, but The Art of Racing in the Rain—told from the perspective of the family pet—is a funny and imaginative story that, like The Age of Empathy, reminds us that we are not the only creatures who feel love and compassion.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon

Haddon took a risk in making an autistic teenager the narrator of his debut novel, but it paid off. Because 15-year-old Christopher lacks the ability to infer the feelings, beliefs, and motivations of others, he is unable to relate to those around him in any traditional sense. Nevertheless, the fact that he clearly feels some form of attachment to those closest to him raises questions about what it means to be empathic.

Born for Love: Why Empathy is Essential—and Endangered, by Bruce D. Perry and Maia Szalavitz.

Like de Waal, Perry and Szalavitz argue that the compassionate instinct is more or less innate. Their other argument—that modern technology, education, childrearing, etc too often stifle these instincts—is not nearly so comforting, but it is nevertheless an issue that deserves our attention.