Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c344IR // #c344Synthesis

From learning to pity the misfortunes of the heroes of our novels, we wind up feeling too much pity for our own.

— In our words · Source: Collected Fictions (Jorge Luis Borges)

[Use when]

Use when reading empathy becomes self-pity by transfer.

[Why it matters]

Empathy practice has a rebound effect: trained feeling for fictional sufferers becomes self-pity.

More from Collected Fictions

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