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How We Ruined Empathy

Is empathy—defined by Merriam-Webster as “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another”—a feeling? Or is it a virtue? And is women’s greater propensity for empathy wrecking our societal order?

These are some of the questions animating (and sometimes paralyzing) conversations among thought leaders on today’s political right.

Elizabeth Grace Matthew writes about books, education, and culture, including on Substack.

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","freeContentEncoded","textContent","published","strategy","curl-ready","locked","deletedAt","isSyncedFromOwnBlog","original","duplicatesCount",0,"duplicateVersion","originalArticleId","errorsCount","appearance","color","backgroundColor","shortSummary","Is empathy a feeling or a virtue? And is women's greater empathy a problem for society? These questions are being debated by thinkers on the political right.","summary","The article explores the nature of empathy, questioning whether it's a feeling or a virtue. It highlights ongoing debates among individuals on the political right concerning empathy's definition and its perceived impact on societal order, particularly in relation to women's greater propensity for it. The piece suggests these conversations can be both stimulating and paralyzing.","bullets",[371,372,373,374],"persons",[360,361,362,363,364,365,366,367,368,369,370],"places",[],"words",230,"sentiment","subject","society & culture","meta",{"_322":323,"_324":325,"_326":327},"eventId","4c3514494cf00d5be43cb89a6bcea6385cbafaaba073aad3f1e46159c959f643","nostrRootEvent","event",{"_24":255,"_285":309,"_134":310,"_182":311,"_289":290,"_216":312,"_292":313},"authorNPub","markdown","Save\n\nHow We Ruined Empathy\n---------------------\n\nIs empathy—defined by Merriam-Webster as “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another”—a feeling? Or is it a virtue? And is women’s greater propensity for empathy wrecking our societal order?\n\nThese are some of the questions animating (and sometimes paralyzing) conversations among thought leaders on today’s political right.\n\nElizabeth Grace Matthew writes about books, education, and culture, including on Substack.\n\nComments\n\n### More We Think You’d Like\n\n[Valerie Pavilonis](https://thedispatch.com/author/valerie-pavilonis), [Alan Koppschall](https://thedispatch.com/author/alan-koppschall), [Michael Warren](https://thedispatch.com/author/michael-warren), & [Sam Buntz](https://thedispatch.com/author/sam-buntz) / May 23, 2026\n\n### The Attention Whore Dilemma\n\n[Jonah Goldberg](https://thedispatch.com/author/jonah-goldberg) / May 22, 2026\n\n### The State of Total Control\n\n[Nathan Beacom](https://thedispatch.com/author/nathan-beacom) / May 19, 2026\n\n### The Movement to Revamp Civics\n\n[Joe Pitts](https://thedispatch.com/author/joe-pitts) / May 18, 2026\n\nClose\n\nGift this article to a friend\n\nChecking gift availability...\n\nUnlimited gift links\n\nof gift links remaining this month You've used all your gift links this month\n\n[Upgrade to Premium for unlimited gift links](/join)\n\n### How We Ruined Empathy\n\n[Elizabeth Grace Matthew](https://thedispatch.com/author/elizabeth-grace-matthew) / May 30, 2026\n\nEmail\n\nCopy Link\n\n### Recipient Details \\*\n\nRecipient Name \\*\n\nRecipient Email \\*\n\nClick the button below to copy the article link to your clipboard.\n\nCopy Gift Link\n\nClear All\n\nEmail Link\n\nClose\n\nShare this article via email\n\nEmail sent successfully!\n\nDone\n\n### How We Ruined Empathy\n\n[Elizabeth Grace Matthew](https://thedispatch.com/author/elizabeth-grace-matthew) / May 30, 2026\n\nRecipient Email \\*\n\nCancel\n\nSend Email\n\nSending...\n\n[Subscribe](https://thedispatch.com/join)\n\n[Latest](https://thedispatch.com/latest)\n\nTopics\n\nNewsletters\n\nEvents\n\n### Authors\n\n[View All](https://thedispatch.com/staff)\n\n[![Photo of Jonah Goldberg](https://i0.wp.com/thedispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Jonah-Goldberg.png?w=120&strip=all&ssl=1)](https://thedispatch.com/author/jonah-goldberg)\n\n[Jonah Goldberg](https://thedispatch.com/author/jonah-goldberg)\n\n[The Cheap Courage of the A-Listers](https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/gfile/celebrities-patriotism-250th-concert/)\n\n[![Photo of Kevin D. 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Save

How We Ruined Empathy

These are some of the questions animating (and sometimes paralyzing) conversations among thought leaders on today’s political right.

Elizabeth Grace Matthew writes about books, education, and culture, including on Substack.

Comments

More We Think You’d Like

Valerie Pavilonis, Alan Koppschall, Michael Warren, & Sam Buntz / May 23, 2026

The Attention Whore Dilemma

Jonah Goldberg / May 22, 2026

The State of Total Control

Nathan Beacom / May 19, 2026

The Movement to Revamp Civics

Joe Pitts / May 18, 2026

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Elizabeth Grace Matthew / May 30, 2026

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The piece suggests these conversations can be both stimulating and paralyzing.\n - Empathy is defined as understanding, awareness, sensitivity, and vicarious experience of another's feelings.\n - There is a debate on whether empathy is a feeling or a virtue.\n - The role of women's greater propensity for empathy in societal order is being questioned.\n - These discussions are occurring among thought leaders on the political right.\n","created_at",1780123500,[307,308],[37,202],[305,306],[41,209],[304,197],[239,203],[302,303],[138,290,36],"client","Layer3.press","d","published_at","1780123500","r","https://news.layer3.press/articles/d91f31f8-6b4f-4534-b737-7607756ff8ae","3f9e2b1d8a80e06bd657a35c6afbf29f010bd31f3bec8446fe6d07ba57e33155a5d11346a1088794122eebcb0e724338c46ee606874f9bf4ac3ad1ea317a4e5d",1,[314,315,316,317,318],"How We Ruined Empathy\nTurn any article into a podcast. 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