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I think shedding some self consciousness can be a good thing. Feynman captures it with a perhaps more positive spin than this book. http://www.amazon.com/What

I think shedding some self consciousness can be a good thing. Feynman captures it with a perhaps more positive spin than this book. http://www.amazon.com/What-Care-Other-People-Think/dp/0393320928 http://www.amazon.com/What-Care-Other-People-Think/dp/039332... If this is taken to extreme, it's actually very bad. Leaders who don't care for their followers cause a lot of anguish. And how will polite society fare if nobody cares how anyone else feels? So if society needs 90% of people to be self conscious and follow norms, are they all the suckers?

orblivion 13y ago
>If this is taken to extreme, it's actually very bad. Leaders who don't care for their followers cause a lot of anguish. Yes, this is called being a sociopath.
- flumbaps 13y ago
  I think that's an over-use of the word sociopath. I think sociopaths lack empathy in general, but there might be a lot of reasons why normal people in leadership roles end up not caring for their followers. Rich and powerful people might feel disgusted by the poor, for example. The strong might be disgusted by the weak. Or within powerful circles a close in-group mentality might develop, so members feel little empathy for those who aren't in their group. Powerful people might even be insulated from reality, becoming emotionally detached from the consequences of their actions, and unable to equate the abstract information and statistics they receive with genuine human suffering. Maybe some even stop feeling empathy as a coping mechanism to lighten the burden of responsibility.
  - mathattack 13y ago
    There are many industries (investment banking?) where empathy can hurt. For most of us, empathy helps. If you have customers, you need empathy. If you have counterparties, it can hurt. If you have employees you need empathy. If you outsource your work on fixed contract, empathy can hurt.

orblivion 13y ago

>If this is taken to extreme, it's actually very bad. Leaders who don't care for their followers cause a lot of anguish. Yes, this is called being a sociopath.

flumbaps 13y ago
I think that's an over-use of the word sociopath. I think sociopaths lack empathy in general, but there might be a lot of reasons why normal people in leadership roles end up not caring for their followers. Rich and powerful people might feel disgusted by the poor, for example. The strong might be disgusted by the weak. Or within powerful circles a close in-group mentality might develop, so members feel little empathy for those who aren't in their group. Powerful people might even be insulated from reality, becoming emotionally detached from the consequences of their actions, and unable to equate the abstract information and statistics they receive with genuine human suffering. Maybe some even stop feeling empathy as a coping mechanism to lighten the burden of responsibility.
- mathattack 13y ago
  There are many industries (investment banking?) where empathy can hurt. For most of us, empathy helps. If you have customers, you need empathy. If you have counterparties, it can hurt. If you have employees you need empathy. If you outsource your work on fixed contract, empathy can hurt.