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Like other terms such as “freedom” or “love,” “empathy” is generally something of a “hurrah” word; people agree that, whatever it is, it is a very good thing. Recent decades have witnessed burgeoning literature on empathy. Simon Baron-Cohen, professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge, suggested in 2001 that it was a panacea: “any problem immersed in empathy becomes solvent.” The Australian philosopher Roman Krznaric spoke in 2015 of an “empathy revolution” that has excited compassion for the humanitarian transformation of society, reforming institutions, extending rights, and deepening relationships.
Alastair Roberts is an adjunct senior fellow at Theopolis Institute and the author of Echoes of Exodus: Tracing Themes of Redemption Through Scripture. He participates in the Mere Fidelity and Theopolis podcasts, and writes The Anchored Argosy Substack.
