What IS empathy?

Question

Beyong feeling the pain and suffering of others as it were?
Is it a good thing, i have been told it is.
And how do you stop it from getting to you?

Answer 1

Empathy is intended to provide compassion as you relate/feel what the other does. If you own the feeling then it consumes you and drains you.
You need to know it as the other's feeling but recognize it's not yours.
It's to feel the emotion & stay separate at the same time.

Answer 2

The problem with empathy is its abstraction. The word probably shouldn't be used at all. This is because it is seen as some sort of "super natural" concept. -It is way to broad.

Have you heard of this experiment:

1. A person being tested see's a small ball on the table, two non-transparent cups (left and right), and two others beside the table.
2. The person being tested sees the ball being covered by the left cup.
3. One of the two people beside the table leaves the room.
4. The other person besides the table removes the ball from the left cup and places it under the right cup.
5. The person who left the room is invited to come back.
6. The person being test is asked whether the person who left the room thinks the ball in under the left or right cup.

These are clear tests. I don't like the use of empathy as some magical form in which people can put themselves in other peoples shoes.

-Because of the difficuilty in defining "empathy" - The idea that some poeple have more empathy than other (That is, quantifying the word) is very very worrying.

Answer 3

Sympathy is feeling sorry for what the other guy is going through.
Empathy is like putting yourself in his shoes, as it were and understanding how he might feel. I don't know that you can stop feeling for the other guy, but you can remind yourself to be grateful that you're not in his position. I think it can help the other guy to know someone has an idea of what he's going through or has considered it. . .

Answer 4

The word empathy is Greek, and means "to suffer with". Empathy is commonly defined as one's ability to recognize, perceive and directly experientially feel the emotion of another. As the states of mind, beliefs, and desires of others are intertwined with their emotions, one with empathy for another may often be able to more effectively define another's modes of thought and mood.

In my line of work its almost a requirement because some of our clients cant speak for themselves because of disabilities they have. So for these people their health and wellbeing and very quality of life is determined by people who can read any signs i.e. pain and suffering, hunger, depression, love etc

Some people are more prone to empathy than others but the ability to detect the emotions from others is definately a part of what makes us human.

To prevent yourself from experiencing empathy just ignore it or just ignore the people who project any emotions.

However, this will require you to be almost inhuman and a very cold individual.

Are you willing to put yourself and others through this?
Are you willing to ignore peoples cries for help?
Are you willing to allow someone to die?

Answer 5

it helps you realize one's problem and suffering very well and give a better hand to help 'em out of it, not only, but it is nice to have it at different other situations, as in when you give a speach it is a more successfull method to place yourself in your listeners' shoes as to know how your speach sounds like, or in when you are to write an essay, you need to place yourself at your readers' shoes to understand your writing influencial skill and likewise at many other situaltions. however at disasters time or when helping one for a better living or a good deed, then having such a feeling is treasure, so far not every individual assert it in themselves well....all the best to ya.

Answer 6

HHHHhhhhh mmmmmm ..... never knew that.