Empathy is considered the foundation of moral action and thus inherently good. However, upon closer examination, the ability to empathize with others also proves to be a prerequisite for targeted humiliations and cruelties. Moreover, even well-intentioned compassion has numerous unintended consequences. For these reasons, it is precisely the dark, previously repressed aspects of empathy that must be addressed on the path to a better society. Fritz Breithaupt invites his readers to reflect on these sides or even discover them within themselves, guiding us from narcissism and Nietzsche to helicopter parenting and Angela Merkel's refugee policy.