My book is going to be called Against Empathy, which may give you a feeling for where my argument is going to go. Whenever I talk about this, I have to begin in the most boring of all possible ways: by defining my terms. By "empathy," some people mean everything that is good - compassion, kindness, warmth, love, being a mensch, changing the world - and I'm for all of those things. I'm not a monster.

I love teaching. I wouldn't take a job that didn't include it.

I have two teenage sons, and they're both surviving, thriving, and having a great time, and they're always on social media.

When people want to inspire you to turn against some group of people, they'll often use empathy.

I'm not a pacifist. I think the suffering of innocent people can be a catalyst for moral action. But empathy puts too much weight on the scale in favor of war. Empathy can really lead to violence.

I think empathy can serve as a moral spark, motivating us to do good things. But anything can be a moral spark.

What I mean by "empathy" is putting yourself in other people's shoes, feeling what they feel.