I agree with Ebony. From what i can gather she's saying thats how it can develop.
Like i said if some one is unlucky enough to have had a lot of crap at them. That 'can' make a person lose empathy for others.
It can develop that way but empathy is not a one way emotion. There are two ways to experience it, giving and receiving. Is it possible for someone who genuinely can't feel empathy for others to actually need to receive it?
I don't believe it congruent to need empathy and at the same time be able to disconnect so completely with others feelings.
We had an RIP thread on her the other evening devoted to Lee and Buttercup, I'm guessing pets but could be houseflies for all I know. If someone needs that attention from strangers on the internet and can't feel any emotion for another human being then I'd go with self absorbed as well.
If someone has little or no empathy it's not their fault and they can't really do much about it. As to why they lack it, they might be autistic or have Aspergers, or they might have one of several personality disorders.
Yes that's true. Also, it could be due to a loveless and harsh upbringing, and it could be that some people become desensitized to the suffering of others because they see so much of it.
I think a lot of it may also come down to personal experience. If you have lost a large number of close family members or suffered a major illness, you may have less empathy for someone mourning the loss of a goldfish or moaning on about having a cold. I'm not saying that their problems are lessened by the fact that yours were more serious but more that the sense of empathy may not be as great. My mum has bad arthritis and is in constant pain and it has definitely made her less empathetic to others who may be in pain when you would think it would be the other way around. I think she views other people's as a minor niggle in comparison to hers which I can kind of understand on one hand but don't necessarily agree with on the other.
I have no empathy, I can't help it, when I've been at funerals, I've seen people weeping and I can't get my head around it, I'll say the appropriate things because that's what is expected but I don't feel anything.
Saying that, I won't say anything to hurt someone, if their dog gets run over, I'm not going to make the old "was it a Rover?" joke. Not being emphatic is one thing, deliberately being cruel is another.
It can develop that way but empathy is not a one way emotion. There are two ways to experience it, giving and receiving. Is it possible for someone who genuinely can't feel empathy for others to actually need to receive it?
I don't believe it congruent to need empathy and at the same time be able to disconnect so completely with others feelings.
We had an RIP thread on her the other evening devoted to Lee and Buttercup, I'm guessing pets but could be houseflies for all I know. If someone needs that attention from strangers on the internet and can't feel any emotion for another human being then I'd go with self absorbed as well.
So because I'm sad that two of my pets have died it means I'm self absorbed
Or maybe just maybe my pets mean a lot to me and are a big part of my life?
Why think that though when you can think the worst of me
Is 'empathy' another word which is losing its own meaning, and being used as though it meant 'sympathy'?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to understand what another person is experiencing from within the other person's frame of reference, i.e., the capacity to place oneself in another's shoes.
You may have sympathy for someone who's dead, but I'm not clear how you can have empathy.
Is 'empathy' another word which is losing its own meaning, and being used as though it meant 'sympathy'?
You may have sympathy for someone who's dead, but I'm not clear how you can have empathy.
Just as is quoted above, empathy is having the ability to understand someone else's feeling as if they were one's own. This doesn't apply to a deceased person as obviously they can't express feelings once they are dead.
The capacity for empathy is innate in humans and other species, but this inherent emotion can by affected by bad experiences one may have had early on in life or during their lifetime.
Sympathy is expressing or showing compassion and kindness to someone who is going through a traumatic time, for eg. bereavement, etc.
Just as is quoted above, empathy is having the ability to understand someone else's feeling as if they were one's own. This doesn't apply to a deceased person as obviously they can't express feelings once they are dead.
The capacity for empathy is innate in humans and other species, but this inherent emotion can by affected by bad experiences one may have had early on in life or during their lifetime.
Sympathy is expressing or showing compassion and kindness to someone who is going through a traumatic time, for eg. bereavement, etc.
Yes, it's one of those words that people use without knowing what it actually means
Yes, it's one of those words that people use without knowing what it actually means
Often mis used, it seems sympathy is a dirty word and empathy is the way to go.
If we were to get really picky about it we could say that its impossible to feel empathy for any one who hasn't actually communicated their feelings. To guess is not true empathy.
Its a commonly used word and probably one which will continue to be used less than completely accurately but with good intention, in this case I think its safe to assume that the dead man, his family and some of the other people involved are feeling some sort of pain or sadness.
As regards people killing themselves by throwing themselves in front of a train I have little sympathy. I commuted by train for over a year and as it was 50 miles (Banbury to Birmingham) I was dependant on it for getting home at night. Several times my journey home was disrupted by suicide attempts. The incidents all occurred around midday and stopped trains running for most of the afternoon, with a patchy service starting in the evening.
One person disrupts the lives of several hundred (possibly several thousand) other people. I have a great deal of sympathy for the bereaved and for my fellow passengers but the 'victim' committed what I consider to be a selfish act so they get little to no sympathy from me.
Often mis used, it seems sympathy is a dirty word and empathy is the way to go.
If we were to get really picky about it we could say that its impossible to feel empathy for any one who hasn't actually communicated their feelings. To guess is not true empathy.
Its a commonly used word and probably one which will continue to be used less than completely accurately but with good intention, in this case I think its safe to assume that the dead man, his family and some of the other people involved are feeling some sort of pain or sadness.
His family and friends would be feeling pain and sadness yes, not the dead man himself.
So because I'm sad that two of my pets have died it means I'm self absorbed
Or maybe just maybe my pets mean a lot to me and are a big part of my life?
Why think that though when you can think the worst of me
I feel for anyone who loses a pet but considered how cold you are about the train incident, creating a thread in GD to illicit sympathy does seem a little hypocritical.
As regards people killing themselves by throwing themselves in front of a train I have little sympathy. I commuted by train for over a year and as it was 50 miles (Banbury to Birmingham) I was dependant on it for getting home at night. Several times my journey home was disrupted by suicide attempts. The incidents all occurred around midday and stopped trains running for most of the afternoon, with a patchy service starting in the evening.
One person disrupts the lives of several hundred (possibly several thousand) other people. I have a great deal of sympathy for the bereaved and for my fellow passengers but the 'victim' committed what I consider to be a selfish act so they get little to no sympathy from me.
Before someone I knew committed suicide I would have thought the same as you. That's what mental illness like severe depression can make some sufferers do - they don't think rationally, so I have a degree of sympathy for them.
I doubt he was "on top of the world" in the time leading upto it.
Oh I thought when you said "dead man" you meant after he had died he felt pain - sorry, a misunderstanding. Yes, indeed, he must have felt pain and sadness before he committed suicide.
I feel for anyone who loses a pet but considered how cold you are about the train incident, creating a thread in GD to illicit sympathy does seem a little hypocritical.
I have no empathy, I can't help it, when I've been at funerals, I've seen people weeping and I can't get my head around it, I'll say the appropriate things because that's what is expected but I don't feel anything.
Saying that, I won't say anything to hurt someone, if their dog gets run over, I'm not going to make the old "was it a Rover?" joke. Not being emphatic is one thing, deliberately being cruel is another.
I know someone who is the same - he might say things that he feels he's supposed to say but it is just a front and he admits he feels nothing. I find it quite chilling in all honesty.
I have no empathy, I can't help it, when I've been at funerals, I've seen people weeping and I can't get my head around it, I'll say the appropriate things because that's what is expected but I don't feel anything.
Saying that, I won't say anything to hurt someone, if their dog gets run over, I'm not going to make the old "was it a Rover?" joke. Not being emphatic is one thing, deliberately being cruel is another.
Yeah, I'm kind of the same. It's weird because I can well up at a film but when people tell me sad news or if I see something shocking that might upset people etc I don't feel affected by it. I'm not sure if any of that means I lack empathy though, I supposed that can only be confirmed via tests?
Yeah, I'm kind of the same. It's weird because I can well up at a film but when people tell me sad news or if I see something shocking that might upset people etc I don't feel affected by it. I'm not sure if any of that means I lack empathy though, I supposed that can only be confirmed via tests?
It seems that you're just indifferent on hearing or seeing sad events.
Comments
It can develop that way but empathy is not a one way emotion. There are two ways to experience it, giving and receiving. Is it possible for someone who genuinely can't feel empathy for others to actually need to receive it?
I don't believe it congruent to need empathy and at the same time be able to disconnect so completely with others feelings.
We had an RIP thread on her the other evening devoted to Lee and Buttercup, I'm guessing pets but could be houseflies for all I know. If someone needs that attention from strangers on the internet and can't feel any emotion for another human being then I'd go with self absorbed as well.
Yes that's true. Also, it could be due to a loveless and harsh upbringing, and it could be that some people become desensitized to the suffering of others because they see so much of it.
Perhaps it just takes you to change your attitude to others for this to change might be worth a try
I would say so. Because she is lonely she doesn't connect with people, so therefore would lack empathy.
Saying that, I won't say anything to hurt someone, if their dog gets run over, I'm not going to make the old "was it a Rover?" joke. Not being emphatic is one thing, deliberately being cruel is another.
I gave plenty and not nothing but hurt
So because I'm sad that two of my pets have died it means I'm self absorbed
Or maybe just maybe my pets mean a lot to me and are a big part of my life?
Why think that though when you can think the worst of me
You may have sympathy for someone who's dead, but I'm not clear how you can have empathy.
Get attached to anything and it's harder to stick a knife in its heart - and of course... vice versa.
Trust me, the more the population increases, the worse it gets.
Move to a country with lower population - it's great.
Go live in a village - you'll see it immediately.
Just as is quoted above, empathy is having the ability to understand someone else's feeling as if they were one's own. This doesn't apply to a deceased person as obviously they can't express feelings once they are dead.
The capacity for empathy is innate in humans and other species, but this inherent emotion can by affected by bad experiences one may have had early on in life or during their lifetime.
Sympathy is expressing or showing compassion and kindness to someone who is going through a traumatic time, for eg. bereavement, etc.
Yes, it's one of those words that people use without knowing what it actually means
The first thing is that you wouldn't be troubled by that.
Often mis used, it seems sympathy is a dirty word and empathy is the way to go.
If we were to get really picky about it we could say that its impossible to feel empathy for any one who hasn't actually communicated their feelings. To guess is not true empathy.
Its a commonly used word and probably one which will continue to be used less than completely accurately but with good intention, in this case I think its safe to assume that the dead man, his family and some of the other people involved are feeling some sort of pain or sadness.
One person disrupts the lives of several hundred (possibly several thousand) other people. I have a great deal of sympathy for the bereaved and for my fellow passengers but the 'victim' committed what I consider to be a selfish act so they get little to no sympathy from me.
His family and friends would be feeling pain and sadness yes, not the dead man himself.
I doubt he was "on top of the world" in the time leading upto it.
I feel for anyone who loses a pet but considered how cold you are about the train incident, creating a thread in GD to illicit sympathy does seem a little hypocritical.
Before someone I knew committed suicide I would have thought the same as you. That's what mental illness like severe depression can make some sufferers do - they don't think rationally, so I have a degree of sympathy for them.
Oh I thought when you said "dead man" you meant after he had died he felt pain - sorry, a misunderstanding. Yes, indeed, he must have felt pain and sadness before he committed suicide.
Not really :-/
I wasn't after sympathy anyway
I know someone who is the same - he might say things that he feels he's supposed to say but it is just a front and he admits he feels nothing. I find it quite chilling in all honesty.
Yeah, I'm kind of the same. It's weird because I can well up at a film but when people tell me sad news or if I see something shocking that might upset people etc I don't feel affected by it. I'm not sure if any of that means I lack empathy though, I supposed that can only be confirmed via tests?
I am really regretting making that joke now. This is the third time I've had to explain it... I'M SORRY!!!
It seems that you're just indifferent on hearing or seeing sad events.