Introduction to Empathy

This post has general views from science to academics that explain empathy and fit within traditional religious concepts and definitions of empathy and compassion.

Definition of Empathy from Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Definition of EMPATHY
1
: the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it
2
: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner; also : the capacity for this

Examples of EMPATHY

1. He felt great empathy with the poor.
2. His months spent researching prison life gave him greater empathy towards convicts.
3. Poetic empathy understandably seeks a strategy of identification with victims … —Helen Vendler, New Republic, 5 May 2003



The Neuro-Science of Empathy with Some Historical Perspectives



Bestselling author, political adviser and social and ethical prophet Jeremy Rifkin investigates the evolution of empathy and the profound ways that it has shaped our development and our society.

Note: His use of the word "fiction" is to describe an idea that extends the mental conception of family. A traditional compassionate/empathic view is often is of all of humanity as part of a 'family' with disagreements. For example, global charity organizations or Mother Teresa. [ Every religion has scripture related to this, see TheCharterForCompassion.org ].

Sam Richards - A Radical Experiment in Empathy



The above video can help break the "Us vs. Them" mental dynamic

Above: Sam Richards is a sociologist and award-winning teacher who has been inspiring undergraduate students at Penn State since 1990. Every semester, 725 students register for his Race and Ethnic Relations course, one of the most popular classes at Penn State and the largest of its kind in the country. Through his natural ability of seeing a subject from many angles, Richards encourages students to engage more fully with the world and to think for themselves — something he did not do until his third year in college. Because of his passion for challenging students to open their minds, an interviewer recently referred to him as "an alarm clock for eighteen-year-olds."


Experience or lack of experience is a big factor in empathy.

Notice, as explained in the last post, that luxury can skew decision making:

"Luxury-primed individuals tend to make decisions that are self-interested and arguably unethical."


Many of the modern billionaires, especially the ones with the most power and influence come from 'old money'. i.e. they have always been rich. These people don't resemble the self-made men that America so admires but people who have had little or no need to struggle. Have never been hungry unless they wanted to, have never worried about being able to buy food or services of any kind (as long as their plane hasn't crashed on a desert island). If you get everything you want (well, mostly) and don't understand the meaning of hard work or struggle to make ends meet, how can you empathize with people who do have to do this? In other words, some of these rich people with economic and political power resemble the people who were in charge in British Colonial days. In other words, people without much empathy. [Note: Keep in mind that this will not apply to everyone with money or even everyone you think is rich given your economic situation - This is just a basic understanding of how empathy works]

There is actually a study on this effect of, what I like to call, 'experience linking to empathy' - i.e. those without experience lack ability to step into another's shoes and so lack the mental ability to feel what another person might feel in their experience until they actually have, at least some, experience of what another person has gone through. Here is the study...

In the first experiment, participants were asked to look at pictures of faces and indicate which emotions were being expressed. The more upper class the judges, the less able they were to accurately identify emotions in others.

In another experiment, upper-class participants had a harder time reading the emotions of strangers during simulated job interviews.

In the third one — an interesting twist of an experiment — people of greater socioeconomic status were asked to compare themselves to the wealthiest, most powerful Americans, thus diminishing their own relative stature. When asked to identify emotions by looking at 36 sets of emoting eyes, they did markedly better than their upper-class peers.

Here’s why: Earlier studies have suggested that those in the lower classes, unable to simply hire others, rely more on neighbors or relatives for things like a ride to work or child care. As a result, the authors propose, they have to develop more effective social skills — ones that will engender good will.

“Upper-class people, in spite of all their advantages, suffer empathy deficits,” Dr. Keltner said. “And there are enormous consequences.” In other words, a high-powered lawyer or chief executive, ill equipped to pick up on more-subtle emotions, doesn’t make for a sympathetic boss.

A talk show discusses the above study...

Just another empathy test