The ease with which you’ve transformed empathy into a form of oppression...

I'm certainly not the only one to think of this.

I know of Twilight Zone episodes to have used that. Specifically one I can think of is the Dachau Nazi "doctor" comes back to relive his glory days, and is forced by the ghosts who still live there to forcefully feel their pain for the rest of his life. It's supernatural, but still the same idea.

There were also episodes of Outer Limits that did similar, but with a machine that forced them to live with the crime they committed.

I believe Black Mirror also did some of this as well.

We don’t need fMRI. There is plenty of opportunity to experience the conditions first hand.