Today it's great to have Paul Bloom on the podcast. Dr. Bloom is the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science at Yale University. His research explores how children and adults understand the physical and social world, with special focus on morality, religion, fiction, and art. He is past-president of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and co-editor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, one of the major journals in the field. Dr. Bloom is also author or editor of seven books, including Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion

In this wide-ranging and provocative episode we discuss:

Paul's graduate research with Steven Pinker
Is language the result of biological evolution or cultural evolution?
What "hardwired" really means
Why innate mechanisms require environmental input
The necessity of bias
Some potential downsides of empathy
The case for rational compassion
Cognitive empathy vs. affective empathy
Did Hitler have the capacity for empathy?
The joy of suffering
Why do we choose to suffer?
The fundamental human need for exploration
The human need to overcome challenges
Would some people be content watching Netflix and smoking pot all day?
The relationship between income and happiness
The importance of spending money well
The psychology of expectation and pleasure
If someone offer you more money, should you take it?
Relief vs. pleasure
Does enjoying something depend on how much we think we will enjoy something?
Art and authenticity
Art and value judgements
Would Tarzan believe in God?
Are babies basically good?
Why religion is so pervasive
Are babies moral?
How a powerful moral sense is responsible for an extraordinary amount of evil in the world
Is moral grandstanding always bad?
Why not everything is virtue signaling

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Paul Bloom || The Joy of Suffering and the Downside of Empathy