Table of Contents
What is Empathy?
Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel 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. Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another. Empathy is thought to be a fundamental human emotion. But research suggests that the ability to empathize with others is not evenly distributed throughout the population: some people seem to be more empathetic than others, and this capacity can vary depending on the situation.
Empathy is the ability to understand what another person is feeling. Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel 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. Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another. Empathy is thought to be a fundamental human emotion, and it is essential to relationships.
As a result, empathy can be seen as both a strength and a weakness. On the one hand, empathy can be a powerful tool for connecting with others. It can help us to understand and feel what others are feeling, and it can facilitate cooperation and communication. On the other hand, empathy can also be a source of vulnerability.
What is Sympathy?
Sympathy is the ability to understand or share the feelings of another. The term sympathy is derived from the Greek word sym meaning with, together and pathos meaning feeling, suffering. Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel 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. Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.
Sympathy is the emotion we feel when we perceive another’s emotional or physical pain and feel compelled to help. Empathy is often confused with sympathy, but they are two distinct emotions. Sympathy is feeling compassion, sorrow, or pity for someone else in their misfortune. Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within the other person’s frame of reference, i.e., the capacity to place oneself in another’s position.
Sympathy is the perception, understanding, and feeling of the emotions of others. This capacity is essential to relationships, as it allows us to see the world from another person’s perspective. Sympathy is thought to be a fundamental human emotion. But research suggests that the ability to empathize with others is not evenly distributed throughout the population: some people seem to be more sympathetic than others, and this capacity can vary depending on the situation.
Difference Between Sympathy and Empathy
Sympathy and empathy are commonly confused with one another, but they denote two different responses to the experience of others. Sympathy is feeling compassion, pity, or sorrow for the hardships that another person is experiencing. Empathy, on the other hand, is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. Empathy is a much more powerful response than sympathy because it allows us to offer comfort from a place of shared experience and understanding.
Feeling empathy towards someone means understanding the emotions that they are feeling and why. Sympathy, on the other hand, is feeling compassion, sorrow, or pity for someone else’s misfortune.
Though empathy and sympathy are two related terms, there is a clear difference between empathy and sympathy. Empathy is the ability to understand another person’s experience. Sympathy, on the other hand, is feeling pity or sorrow for someone. Empathy is feeling with someone while sympathy is feeling for someone.
Comparison Between Sympathy and Empathy
| Parameter of Comparison | Empathy | Sympathy |
| Meaning | Feeling others pains as ones own’s | Understanding others pain |
| Feelings | Empathy can feel others’ emotions | Does not require feelings to feel another person’s emotions |
| Judgement | Never pass judgments | Passing judgment |
| Perspective | Finding out their perspective | Overlooking or repressing your own perspective |