Episode 55: Rooting for Evil (With Paul Bloom)
Very Bad Wizards
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The Importance of Empathy in Fiction
Paul: Why would taking the perspective of somebody who's doing something bad make us more sympathetic? We're especially abhorred when we're like, oh my God, this is what this guy's thinking. It might have to do with empathy, which as you know may have its downsides. That's your number one villain, isn't it? I'm not having to last empathy, right? You know, all I have is a hammer. So empathy is my nail. If you spend enough time seeing the world through Hitler's eyes, you start being kind of pro-Hitler. And if you're putting yourself in Tony Sopranos head or Walter White's head, that's
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