Empathy, the
will to understand or to attempt to understand others by imagining what it
might feel like to be them; how it might feel to experience the world from
inside their skin, underpins much of our lives. For instance, it is present in
the ways in which people relate to and care for one another within families and
in bigger groups, to the ways in which we communicate with one another through
literature, art, film, advertising and digital media. Many professions - from
nursing, counselling psychotherapy and medicine, to teaching, product design,
architecture, advertising and stand-up comedy, depend at least partly, on
empathic skill.
We can empathise with others whose lives are very different from our own, and because empathy involves the use of the imagination, we can even empathise with people in experiences that we are unlikely ever to have, and even in experiences that we will never be able to have. Though empathy is often viewed through 'rose-coloured spectacles', as if it is always a good thing, some people would argue that it can be put to bad uses, for example by bullies and torturers who use empathic skill to know how best to harm their victims.
Some people believe that everyone who is aware of others has the ability to empathise, at least to some extent; others disagree, believing, rather, that some individuals, who are often referred to as 'psychopathic', have no ability to empathise. Others again believe that empathy is both a gift and a skill that can be developed. They note that while some people seem to empathise naturally, others don’t, and argue that given the right experiences, most people can develop empathic ability.
Empathy provides a space in which academics as well as practitioners and professionals for whom empathy is centrally important, can explore the part empathy plays in human life. It provides a place for reflection on its significance for practitioners in health and social care; education; architecture and town planning; politics; the police; advertising; media of all kinds; the news industry in all its forms; film and theatre, and the fine arts, including the work of artists and those who work in museums and art galleries.
We can empathise with others whose lives are very different from our own, and because empathy involves the use of the imagination, we can even empathise with people in experiences that we are unlikely ever to have, and even in experiences that we will never be able to have. Though empathy is often viewed through 'rose-coloured spectacles', as if it is always a good thing, some people would argue that it can be put to bad uses, for example by bullies and torturers who use empathic skill to know how best to harm their victims.
Some people believe that everyone who is aware of others has the ability to empathise, at least to some extent; others disagree, believing, rather, that some individuals, who are often referred to as 'psychopathic', have no ability to empathise. Others again believe that empathy is both a gift and a skill that can be developed. They note that while some people seem to empathise naturally, others don’t, and argue that given the right experiences, most people can develop empathic ability.
Empathy provides a space in which academics as well as practitioners and professionals for whom empathy is centrally important, can explore the part empathy plays in human life. It provides a place for reflection on its significance for practitioners in health and social care; education; architecture and town planning; politics; the police; advertising; media of all kinds; the news industry in all its forms; film and theatre, and the fine arts, including the work of artists and those who work in museums and art galleries.
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