Transcendence and dissociation

Good article on how the privileged life removes us from our own suffering and that of others. The author finds it rooted in a theology of transcendence, one that finds God or Ultimate Reality in a plane beyond our lowly world. The result is that it anesthetizes us from those not as fortunate, those who suffer the slings and arrows to pay for our privileged life.

This reminds me of the key ingredient of making the 'hosts' sentient in Westworld: the ability to suffer. Even in Buddhism a key goal is the elimination of suffering. It would seem it is a key ingredient in empathy and compassion.