Listen now | 0:00 The (fuzzy) distinction between cognitive and emotional empathy 7:00 Simon’s work on autism and empathy 15:59 Should we really view autism as a spectrum? 26:17 Are powerful people bad at cognitive empathy? 40:19 Hitler, tribalism, and the societal dynamics of empathy 53:58 Can cognitive empathy save the world? 1:00:47 The “double-empathy” problem 1:04:58 How autistic kids play differentlyRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Simon Baron-Cohen (University of Cambridge, The Science of Evil, The Pattern Seekers). Recorded May 18, 2023.Comments on BhTV: http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/66341 Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods
One of the intriguing parts for me was how psychopathic people can employ their high level of cognitive empathy to manipulate others for the situation which they psychopathically desire to bring. Some autistic people may have the same high level of cognitive empathy while having no interest in nor desire for such manipulations. Rather, because they perceive too many factors in minds of others from social interactions, the withdrawal becomes a choice in order for the high rate of undesirable mental consumptions to avoid. This is my empirical hypothesis.
One of the intriguing parts for me was how psychopathic people can employ their high level of cognitive empathy to manipulate others for the situation which they psychopathically desire to bring. Some autistic people may have the same high level of cognitive empathy while having no interest in nor desire for such manipulations. Rather, because they perceive too many factors in minds of others from social interactions, the withdrawal becomes a choice in order for the high rate of undesirable mental consumptions to avoid. This is my empirical hypothesis.