>>24555507 Why do some people fail to gain wisdom, knowledge, or empathy from reading?
Here are the most meaningful reasons:
---
1. Reading passively instead of critically
Some people read the way they might scroll social media: passively, looking for plot or entertainment, but not reflecting on what's underneath. They don’t ask:
Why is the character acting this way?
What does this say about human nature, or me?
Without reflection, no depth is gained.
---
2. Reading for ego, not growth
People who read only to feel smart, or to show off, often resist being changed by what they read. They approach books defensively — as something to conquer or “get through” — not something that might challenge them or unsettle their views.
This blocks wisdom and empathy.
---
3. Lack of life experience/context
Empathy and wisdom often come from connecting the text to life, but if someone has limited experience, or is emotionally closed off, the book won’t “land.”
A teenage reader might not understand Anna Karenina the way someone who has lived through heartbreak or moral failure will.
---
4. Ideological or emotional rigidity
Some readers are locked into a rigid worldview. Anything that challenges it is dismissed. For example, someone might read The Brothers Karamazov and come away just mocking the religious parts — missing the moral torment, spiritual searching, and philosophical depth.
---
Should one gain wisdom, knowledge, or empathy from reading?
Yes — if done attentively, reading can be one of the richest sources of:
Wisdom — by encountering moral dilemmas, historical patterns, failures, and transcendent ideas.
Knowledge — not just facts, but structures of thought, intellectual history, and complexity.
Empathy — by entering other minds, other worlds, and seeing life through someone else’s eyes.
But these aren’t automatic. Reading doesn’t change you unless you let it.
---
TL;DR:
> You don’t grow just by reading — you grow by thinking about what you read.And some people simply read without thinking, feeling, or
