Empathy: Should We Ever Set It Aside?

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Is it ever appropriate to withhold empathy from another human being? From a young age, most of us are taught to think of others’ feelings in evaluating our own behavior. We learn to try to put ourselves in another person’s shoes when confronting questionable behavior or a simple difference of opinion. If we are able to do this, we can empathize with the other person. Perspective-taking is key in our ability to understand…