Roots of Empathy
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What is Empathy?
By Stephen Orticello
Empathy is defined as an awareness and sensitivity to the feelings, thoughts and experiences of another person. It is, “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”
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empathy
There is a difference between empathy and compassion and the two are often confused. Empathy is being sensitive and open to receiving what someone is going through, whereas compassion involves feelings of empathy but also drives people to action in an effort to relieve or offset a person’s suffering.
Empathy itself is composed of two types:
Affective, which refers to the sensations and feelings we experience toward another’s emotions (e.g., feeling anxious when someone around us is feeling anxious, stress or fear when someone around us feels this way.
Cognitive Empathy, also known as ‘perspective taking’. This is our ability to be receptive to and understand other people's emotions.
Having empathy does not mean we will help someone who needs help, but, ". . .it's often a vital first step in toward compassionate action".
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/empathy/definition