(C1) People are self-centered, we see this over and over again in TV, in books, in our day-to-day communications, and in our personal relationships. (I) Wallace says (Q1) “We rarely think about this sort of natural, basic self-centredness because it’s so socially repulsive. […] It is our default setting, hard-wired into our boards at birth.” (2). (E) Our ability to register other people’s emotions and feelings isn’t something we’re born with, it’s something we learn and get better at with practice. (T) As Bloom illustrates, (Q2) “Although we might intellectually believe that the suffering of our neighbor is just as awful as the suffering of someone living in another country, it’s far easier to empathize with those who are close to us, those who are similar to us,” (2). (C2) As we get more proficient in our abilities to acknowledge other people, we start small (and some people stay there). It’s up to us to work at being kind, to work at looking outward, and to have other people’s completely individualized lives resonate with us.
