New Research Shines a Light on Suicidal Empathy

Are you ready for Gad Saad's new book on suicidal empathy?

Throughout society, empathy is generally viewed as a positive trait. Sharing and understanding the feelings of other human beings has merit; however, like with anything else, too much of a good thing can quickly turn poisonous.

Such is life and explains the phenomenon known as suicidal empathy.

In a nutshell, suicidal empathy happens when an abundance of empathy for various individuals or circumstances leads to negative, unintended consequences.

Up until recently, there’s been a lot of speculation - yet minimal data - explaining the ins and outs of suicidal empathy. Though preventing disastrous outcomes from this phenomenon innately requires a public understanding of it.

Thankfully, new research is streamlining this understanding, shining more light on what ultimately motivates suicidal empathy.

A Closer Look at the Research

According to findings from Karolinska Institute’s Division of Psychology and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, variations between the two sexes are believed to play a role in suicidal empathy.

The research shows that when taking factors like personality, negative emotions, verbal capabilities, and episodic memory into account, nations with a higher standard of living see more contrasts between men and women.

In other words, attributes like altruism, shame, and guilt are increased in women, yet decreased in men. Though in countries with lower standards of living, variations between both genders are less pronounced in the aforementioned arenas.

The research from Karolinska Institute doesn’t suggest that any of these patterns will change in the future. In fact, nations that manage to increase their living conditions over time are also projected to see greater psychological differences between men and women.

Scholar Gaad Saad Warned About This Awhile Ago

Saad famously coined the term ‘suicidal empathy,’ warning about the dangerous domino effect it can have throughout society.

Empathy, when lacking in moderation, can lead to a divorce from rational choice making, increased levels of division, and even tolerance for violence. Saad likewise cautioned people that misapplying empathy also tends to bring about negative consequences that weren’t originally intended.

In order to avoid these outcomes, the scholar endorsed prioritizing objective justice and logical reasoning. Considering the long term ramifications of various decisions also becomes essential to avoiding suicidal empathy.

Over the years, some people have made the case that there’s no such thing as too much empathy. However, as we can see, it’s this train of thought that leads to the breakdown of society and the embrace of dangerous policies.

Just having good and pure intentions isn’t enough. Leaders have to be critical thinkers and capable of weighing all their options. What sounds nice in a speech isn’t always the best course of action to implement in reality.

Western Decline and Suicidal Empathy

In 2025, many people are understandably concerned about the problems facing the Western world. Some have attributed at least a portion of these problems to suicidal empathy and the failure to consider certain outcomes.

For instance, both the United States and Europe have seen staggering rates of illegal immigration over the years. With this illegal immigration has come the rise of violent crimes and other systematic problems.

Of course, you have some folks who approach this issue from a place of suicidal empathy. They argue that immigrants fleeing dangerous parts of the world are owed asylum - or even residency rights - in countries across the Western world.

However, what happens when said immigrants fail to assimilate into the culture in the United States or Europe? What happens when countries are letting in so many migrants that they fail to properly vet who’s coming in?

Terrorists can - and have - exploited lax immigration policies across the Western world, even those that were started with the best of intentions.

As previously stated, good intentions simply don’t cut it. At the end of the day, they won’t prevent the adverse consequences of suicidal empathy and poor foresight from materializing.

We Need More Research Into Suicidal Empathy

In order to prevent Western decline and other horrendous consequences, it would behoove us to learn more about suicidal empathy. This is still a relatively new concept that a lot of folks are just managing to wrap their heads around.

Knowing its causes and correlations is great, but we can’t accept suicidal empathy as the unchangeable status quo. We must further dig into this phenomenon and figure out strategic ways to work against it.

Part of this starts with educating people about why empathy needs to be balanced with rational, objective thinking. The general public needs to understand why good intentions can lead to horrible outcomes if the right precautions aren’t set in place.

This - combined with additional research and findings - will be one of the best defenses against long term destruction.

We’ve already begun to see the consequences of suicidal empathy. Now, it’s incumbent upon us to steer the ship in a better direction, educate the masses, and make pragmatic choices moving forward.