MotownDangerPants wrote:
I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and I've come to realize that I only have emotional reactions to things that make sense to me.
Even reading through posts here, I notice that I feel absolutely nothing for someone who may be extremely upset if they're reasoning makes no sense to me, if I feel like they aren't using logic.
I usually feel very deeply for and want to help those that express concerns that make sense to me, but I don't feel exactly what they're feeling.
So I guess what I feel is sympathy. I feel FOR a person, but it has to be logical. I could never truly feel what another person is feeling...I can come close but if the understanding has to be obtained through logical reasoning, it isn't really empathy, is it?
---
Oh, I think empathy can be 100% intellectual for some persons (for example, actors or actresses who play empathetic roles).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Empath (Star Trek)
...
In terms of well-known persons who have a great gift for empathy, Oprah Winfrey comes to mind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey
At the same time, I tend to believe Oprah Winfrey was given a rare talent for empathy.
Very few persons can respond to guests as she does (my view).
---
Words
Empathy
Sympathy
Partial empathy
Partial sympathy
and so on
15 Sep 2010, 12:05 pm
