Interesting. I would have said the opposite—that many EAs are what Simon Baron-Cohen calls ‘high systematizers’ (which overlaps somewhat with the Aspergers/autism spectrum), who tend to be pretty strong on affective empathy (e.g. easily imaging how horrible it would be to be a factory-farmed chicken, a starving child, or a future AGI), but who are often somewhat weaker on cognitive empathy (i.e. using Theory of Mind to understand other people’s specific beliefs and desires accurately, follow social norms, communicate effectively with others who have different values and assumptions, manipulate and influence other people, etc).
I agree that psychopaths rely much more on cognitive empathy than on affective empathy. But in my reckoning, this Aspergers-vs-psychopaths dimensions implies that EA includes relatively few psychopaths, and relatively many Aspy people (like me).
(FWIW, I’d recommend the recent Simon Baron-Cohen book ‘The pattern seekers’, about the evolutionary origins and technological benefits of high systematizing.)
Interesting. I would have said the opposite—that many EAs are what Simon Baron-Cohen calls ‘high systematizers’ (which overlaps somewhat with the Aspergers/autism spectrum), who tend to be pretty strong on affective empathy (e.g. easily imaging how horrible it would be to be a factory-farmed chicken, a starving child, or a future AGI), but who are often somewhat weaker on cognitive empathy (i.e. using Theory of Mind to understand other people’s specific beliefs and desires accurately, follow social norms, communicate effectively with others who have different values and assumptions, manipulate and influence other people, etc).
I agree that psychopaths rely much more on cognitive empathy than on affective empathy. But in my reckoning, this Aspergers-vs-psychopaths dimensions implies that EA includes relatively few psychopaths, and relatively many Aspy people (like me).
(FWIW, I’d recommend the recent Simon Baron-Cohen book ‘The pattern seekers’, about the evolutionary origins and technological benefits of high systematizing.)