The Arithmetic of Compassion by Scott & Paul Slovic
Check out this powerful New York Times article, written by UO professor, Paul Slovic and his son Scott. This article describes and illustrates the importance of the following psychological tendencies: psychic numbing, pseudoinefficacy, compassion fade, and the prominence effect. The ultimate relevancy behind understanding these tendencies, is that they can lead us to act in ways contrary to our values.
“Doing so can help us to improve our reactions to information about a complex and often upsetting world. Addressing catastrophes like climate change, mass terrorist attacks and refugee crises may be beyond our reach unless we come to terms with how our minds perform the arithmetic of compassion.”