Zero degrees of empathy
William Leith31 May 2012
Zero Degrees of Empathy
by Simon Baron-Cohen
(Penguin, £9.99)
Simon Baron-Cohen wrote The Essential Difference, a book about how the female brain has evolved to be better at empathising with people than the male brain. Here, he studies the brains of people who, for various reasons, do not empathise with others. Empathy is about being “double-minded” — having the ability to imagine what’s in someone else’s mind. He describes horrific situations in which people seemed to have none. Josef Fritzl; invading soldiers who make mothers kill their own children; Turks who massacred Armenians. Then he takes you into case studies of individuals. Sometimes you might recognise people you know. Brilliant work — and clearly written, too.
