‘Empathy’ at Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life, Page 2

Knowing the kind of person you’re dealing with can give you valuable insight into the types of values they’re likely to hold, their dominant attitudes and beliefs, and their typical modus operandi when it comes to dealing with other people.

One of the more subtle ways that a person hell-bent upon power and control can veil their will to dominate is to cloak it under the cover of subservience to a higher cause or the purported desire to be of service.

If pleasure is the only guide, then any addict with enough money to get what they want is our model.

Effective manipulation tactics simultaneously put others on the defensive while also obscuring or denying the malevolent intent of the person using them. Such tactics are particularly effective on neurotic individuals — especially those who always want to think the best of people and who strive hard to understand what would make a person behave in a problematic way.

We assume that other’s experience is the same as ours — but what if it isn’t?