Empathy is more than a feeling; it’s a discipline that allows us to humanize those who disagree with us.

Empathy is an ancient moral instinct that is relatively new to the English language. From the Greek word Empatheia (meaning passion or emotion) and the Greek Pathos (meaning suffering and profound feeling), the German language produced the term Einfühlung somewhere in the late 19th century — a term describing the projection of one’s own feelings onto other human beings and even onto objects.

As language evolved, the English term “empathy” came to signify the capacity to understand the feelings of another person as if they were one’s own. Yet this new term reflected a very ancient bit of moral wisdom. It is strange that in today’s polarized discourse we sometimes discard empathy as if it were the product of experimental social science and not something that in substance echoes all the way back to the gospels and beyond.

“Research shows that when physicians engage with the arts—as observers or as artists or performers—empathy increases. According to the National Institutes of Health, ‘empathy is a fundamental driver of high-quality clinical care, acting as a crucial component of clinical competence that directly correlates with better patient outcomes, increased satisfaction, and lower litigation rates.

It bridges the gap between technical expertise and human connection, enhancing patient compliance and diagnostic accuracy, often acting as a key component of effective care.’ Ultimately, if we want to be successful in clinical care, we should consider the arts as a tool for cultivating empathy. I encourage everyone to explore art, music, theatre, dance, poetry, or prose as a way to connect with their own sense of empathy.”

Rhamell Burke, a repeat criminal, attacked and later stalked two women on the New York City subway last April.

Though police stopped Burke from harassing the women any further, the victims ultimately decided not to cooperate with prosecutors, with one woman telling the New York Post later, “maybe a part of me was just like, I don’t want to put another black man in jail.” It was a decision she ultimately regretted after Burke, about one month later, allegedly pushed a retired school teacher onto the subway tracks, leading to the 76-year-old’s death.

“ Well, I mean, it's toxic empathy, isn't it—that it gets people killed. It serves the ego of the so-called enlightened, but the consequences fall on people that can't defend themselves,” argues Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.

Pope Leo XIV said today that for Christians and Muslims, “human compassion and empathy are not something additional or optional, but are a call from God to reflect his goodness in our daily lives.”

The Pontiff made his remarks to participants in a colloquium organized by the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and Jordan’s Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies. The theme of the colloquium is “Human Compassion and Empathy in Modern Times.”

And for more on suicidal empathy, be sure to catch Rafaela Siewert’s conversation with the man who coined the phrase, Gad Saad. He explains to Rafaela why he thinks the West is on a suicide mission.

There is something unique about the West’s feverish desire to commit collective suicide by misguided empathy. Interestingly, in his mammoth twelve-volume A Study of History, the British historian Arnold J. Toynbee explained why civilizations die. This has since been summarized by the following maxim: “Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.”

The general argument is that societies decay because of the self-inflicted failures of their elites in a myriad of ways. The American philosopher James Burnham echoed that sentiment in his 1964 book Suicide of the West, wherein he proclaimed: “It may be added that suicide is probably more frequent than murder as the end phase of a civilization” and added that “[L]iberalism is the ideology of Western suicide.”

I posit that in the current zeitgeist, the collective suicide of the West is occurring via the orgiastic misfiring of one of our most noble virtues, empathy, which of course is deeply anchored within the ethos of progressive liberals.

By  Dr. Gad Saad

Empathy is an admirable virtue; as a social species, we have evolved the capacity for empathy. We seek prospective spouses and close friends who exhibit this trait.

We look for empathetic health care providers be they physicians, therapists, or veterinarians.

But as Aristotle explained millennia ago via his golden mean, all good things in moderation. Too little or too much of anything is often worse than some optimal sweet spot. 

This insight applies to empathy as well. Little or no empathy is a hallmark of psychopaths. Too much of it is a telltale sign of the suicidally empathetic, which also includes invoking empathy in the wrong situations toward the wrong targets.

Were you consoled by these expressions of empathy? Did you believe them? Did they make your situation any better, or did they become the replacement for what you really needed: patient listening, ongoing caring, practical help and lasting companionship? Were they ultimately no more than your conversation partner’s gateway to escape from the duty of really hearing you and going through sorrow with you?

What is empathy worth?

A review of Suicidal Empathy: Dying to be Kind by Gad Saad, 256 pages, Broadside Books (May 2026).

Homeowner Jane invites the homeless James to live with her. “I’d hate to be homeless,” she tells herself. James starts to exploit and abuse her. She accepts it. “I would not exploit and abuse someone unless something truly terrible had happened to me,” she thinks. This is what Gad Saad would call “suicidal empathy.” In his book of the same name, the Canadian commentator rails against “the orgiastic misfiring of one of our most noble virtues, empathy.”

There is merit to Saad’s critique. He is correct that empathy is problematic when people exaggerate the similarities between individuals. In all likelihood, James is not exploiting and abusing Jane because he has been maddened by trauma. He is, fundamentally, a less conscientious person.

DEFINING EMPATHY AND COMPASSION
Empathy and compassion are related, yet distinct constructs, each of which have multiple dimensions: affective, cognitive, behavioral, intentional, motivational, spiritual, moral, and others. In addition to their multidimensionality, compassion and empathy are crowded by multiple adjacent constrcuts with which they overlap to varying degrees, such as kindness, caring, concern, sensitvity, respect, and a host of behaviors, such as listening, accurately responding, patience and so on. 

Both compassion and empathy can be conceptualized at state and/or trait levels: people can have context-dependent experiences of empathy or compassion (i.e., state), or can have a tendency to be empathic or compassionate (i.e., trait). Compassion and empathy also appear to differ in underlying structure as well as brain function. When assessing compassion and empathy, it is often important to measure their opposites, or constructs that present barriers to experiencing and expressing compassion or empathy. 

“Compassion fatigue” is more accurately characterized as empathy fatigue, and some evidence indicates that compassion can actually counteract negative aspects of empathy.

Join Monica Harris, John Wood, Jr. and Ilana Redstone as we discuss the need to develop emotional intelligence and perspective-taking skills and how deep listening strengthens democratic participation and community bonds. This theme also supports FAIR's commitment to respectful civil discourse, which is a foundational element of our Many Stories, One Nation curriculum: https://manystoriesonenation.com/
 

When researchers asked people whether they’d rather get an empathetic response from a human or from AI, human responses won by a wide margin. When the same researchers actually showed them the responses, AI won by a wider one. People who said they preferred human responses rated the AI replies as more empathetic, more validating, and even better at making them feel heard.

That gap between what customers say they want and what actually satisfies them is nothing new for marketers. But it's now showing up in two of the most important domains a CMO oversees: service and support.

by Valerie Stivers

In the strange case of Gad Saad, we have a public intellectual and cultural firebrand whose most intelligent haters tend to half-agree with him. Saad is a Canadian professor of marketing with a background in evolutionary psychology, originally of Lebanese Jewish origin, whose new book Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind, was Amazon’s no. 16 best-seller in books on its May 12 debut. This book, like Saad’s 2021 best-seller, The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense, promotes a big, catchy idea that seems to explain a broad cultural problem.

The Parasitic Mind purported to explain why so many people were able to believe obviously bonkers stuff during peak woke. Suicidal Empathy addresses how “misguided” concern for certain categories of people — criminals, victims, Muslims, the homeless, immigrants, trans athletes — has prompted Western elites to act against their own self-interest and endanger Western civilization.

This idea is so apropos that it has grabbed very well-timed headlines, thanks to a New York Post story on a young woman who declined to prosecute a man who attacked her on the subway — because of empathy; she didn’t want to send another black man to jail — only to regret it after her attacker allegedly killed an elderly man.

Is modern empathy actually a form of social suicide? Dr. Gad Saad joins Tyrus to expose how "Luxury Beliefs" and parasitic ideas are dismantling Western civilization.Evolutionary psychologist Dr. Gad Saad breaks down the core thesis of his new book, "Suicidal Empathy."

Tyrus and Gad explore the "GoverneMeHarder" mindset comparing the empathy-based appeals of historical tyrants to modern moral busybodies. They discuss the biological necessity of reciprocity, why the "Blank Slate" theory is dangerous, and how the West’s magnanimity is often mistaken for weakness.

Gad Saad’s new book tackles an interesting topic. Unfortunately, the author’s narcissistic ramblings make it almost impossible to read.

A review of Suicidal Empathy: Dying to be Kind by Gad Saad, 256 pages, Broadside Books (May 2026).

Homeowner Jane invites the homeless James to live with her. “I’d hate to be homeless,” she tells herself. James starts to exploit and abuse her. She accepts it. “I would not exploit and abuse someone unless something truly terrible had happened to me,” she thinks. This is what Gad Saad would call “suicidal empathy.” In his book of the same name, the Canadian commentator rails against “the orgiastic misfiring of one of our most noble virtues, empathy.”

“Empathy is the starting point for creating a community and taking action. It’s the impetus for creating change.” – Max Carver

We think Max Carver got it right and that if we truly care about community building and making positive changes in the world, we have to invest in learning about how to become even more empathic as empathy is at the heart of true understanding. We asked some deeply empathic leaders to share their perspectives below.

Professor and bestselling author Dr. Gad Saad joins the Chicks on the Right podcast to discuss his explosive new book, Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind. From the rise of anti-Semitism and open borders to equity, taxation, DEI, political correctness, and the collapse of Western values, Gad Saad delivers an unfiltered conversation packed with satire, sharp analysis, and controversial takes.

The discussion dives into Islam and Western freedoms, Canada’s crushing tax system, Kamala Harris’ focus on equity, Mark Cuban drama, woke language manipulation, and whether the West still has the courage to defend its foundational principles.

If you’re interested in politics, culture wars, free speech, anti-woke commentary, and fearless debates, this episode is for you!

00:00 Intro
01:05 Gad Saad’s legendary sarcasm and satire
02:50 “Suicidal Empathy” explained
03:00 Islam and compatibility with Western values
05:45 Rise of anti-Semitism in the West
08:20 Moderate Muslims & reforming Islam debate
12:00 Canada’s extreme taxation system
18:10 Kamala Harris, equity vs equality
22:00 Mark Cuban unfollows Gad Saad
24:00 Pronouns, performative politics & “phonies”
25:15 Woke language manipulation explained
27:30 “Minor attracted person” & linguistic empathy
30:00 How “Suicidal Empathy” hijacks thinking
33:00 Trump, women’s sports & cultural battles
33:50 “The West lacks testicular fortitude”

Swap draining affective empathy for cognitive empathy to understand others without losing your perspective.

Avoid empathic tunnel vision to prevent unfair biases and emotional burnout.

Adopt rational compassion over emotional "quick fixes."

That is where the second form of empathy helps. Cognitive empathy is about perspective-taking. It allows you the intellectual understanding of the situation, but doesn't let you be absorbed by feelings and forget the bigger picture. When you utilize cognitive empathy, you are gathering information and creating a mental map of the situation.

by Ruth Gotian

Empathy Shadowing
Speaking with end users in their own environment during their normal routines is a process called empathic design. This approach sparked the design thinking movement, which puts the user at the center of the design. Research has shown repeatedly in nearly every industry, including healthcare, technology, hospitality, and the financial sector, that observing and experiencing the user’s experience builds empathy.

Empathy shadowing helps leaders understand the full ecosystem—customers, employees, and the processes connecting them. By visiting employees where they actually work, leaders can wrap their head around problems in real time and see them, and their response, as they unfold. Following a patient through the care journey reveals both patient frustrations and the systemic hurdles clinicians and staff face. Listening to customer support calls shows engineers how customers feel and where internal tools create friction. Acting as an anonymous hotel guest exposes service issues and the constraints causing them. Leaders make better decisions when they understand the experience from every perspective.

At the very heart of America’s strength lies the boundless love and quiet power of mothers. We are the most devoted teachers, gently nurturing empathy, inspiring dreams, and guiding our children towards goodness. We help them rise with courage when life grows difficult. In every hug, every story read at bedtime, and every sacrifice made without complaint, mothers build the moral foundation of our families. In doing so, America’s mothers help build the soul of our nation.

I pray you find enduring strength as your loved one serves in defense of our freedom. Most know my husband as the strong Commander-in-Chief, but his empathy transcends the role and shapes a caring leader who constantly remembers each and every American soldier is someone’s child.

“We’re trying to get the kids to think a little bit more introspectively about their feelings since the first step of empathy is recognizing one’s own emotions.”

"The Empathy Handbook" came out of the Educating for Democracy course, part of ASU’s Humanities Lab. The lab is supported by the Create the Change Initiative and the Cultivating Civic Virtues through Action, or CCVA, initiative, granted by the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University and funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc.

People with high levels of psychopathic tendencies are often incapable of feeling empathy for other people. From a brain science perspective, empathy isn't a single emotion but a multi-part neural process. It involves brain systems that help us share others' feelings, understand their perspectives, and even mentally step into their experience.