Our best hope for the future [...] lies in an appreciation of the fact that, even if we don’t empathize with distant strangers, their lives have the same value as the lives of those we love.

I think empathy is really important for pleasure.

I think there's some evidence that when it comes to being a doctor or nurse, a police officer or therapist, that empathetic engagement leads to burn-out. Imagine if you're dealing with severely ill children, and you felt their pain all the time, and the pain of their parents - you wouldn't be able to do that job for very long. It would kill you.

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 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.

Because of empathy, stories of the suffering of one person could lead us into a war that could kill millions of people.