That’s true, changing people’s character is an uphill battle, but it seems that the potential reward is massive enough that all possible interventions should be explored.
Fundamentally, we know that there exist people with varying levels of empathy. (Or at least people who act empathetically in varying degrees.) At the very least, we should figure out what the difference is, through a method like psychology or neuroscience. That would give us a much firmer footing to understand if empathy can be increased, and how.
For now, I still don’t have the mental bandwidth to pursue this in any kind of formal capacity. Still not at 100% mental energy after a long period of depression. I’m currently working on becoming an electrician, but I hope I can find a way to steer my career in this direction in the future.
I’m so glad I found this post. This is the first I’ve come across another person that feels strongly about increasing empathy potentially being a powerful lever for suffering prevention. I read the post, and plan to go through all the links you included to do further research.
You inspired me to post an essay I wrote a few months ago with a similar theme.
Your mention of Veil of Ignorance gave me a bit of an idea that I brainstormed with ChatGPT, and that you might find interesting: