ABSTRACT
In calling this chapter “The Limits of Empathy,” I aim to raise both a normative and a meta-ethical question. The meta-ethical question is this: can an adequate moral theory be grounded in empathy, or care and empathy, alone? Michael Slote (2007) has developed a sentimentalist ethics grounded in care and empathy, and on my reading of his work, Slote provides a positive reply to the meta-ethical question, affirming both the necessity and sufficiency of care and empathy as grounds for moral theory. 1 Against this view, I argue that empathy has an important and legitimate role to play in morality, but that empathy cannot serve as our sole moral guide.
