Empathy Is a Core Value of Civilization. How Can We Best Promote It?

There has been much criticism of Elon Musk 's suggestion in early 2025, in conversation with Joe Rogan , that empathy is a weakness of Western civilization. In fact, as believing Christians, Jews, or Muslims know, the founders and leaders of these major world religions advocate understanding of others, empathy for their suffering, and the pursuit of peaceable relations with all. Yet, even as believers or non-believers know, we often fall short of our ideals. And the best way to deal with this sense of shortcoming is to redouble our efforts and try anew to empathize with others, and act with a moral sensibility for the betterment of ourselves, others, and the world we live in.

A popular psychological theory that assumes, counter to the idea of "original sin," that we are born essential