Talk:Sympathy

Edit: first example was incorrect and biased. A lustful serial killer is not feeling a victim's fear or pain, they are experiencing lust. Serial killers are not very empathic, if at all. See definition of psycopath.

Empathy (as used on this page as in the "but not" comments = Jungian extroverted feeling Sympathy = Jungian introverted feeling 24.22.227.53 07:01, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

This is not correct: "...It thus implies concern, or care or a wish to alleviate negative feelings others are experiencing."

the wish to alleviate negative feelings relates to 'Compassion' and maybe even 'Empathy', but not 'Sympathy'. Refer to most common dictionaries for the correct definition of Sympathy, there is NO implied 'wish to alleviate negative feelings others are experiencing' with Sympathy.

Sympathy relates to harmony and agreement of feelings, there are no inclinations or any implication towards alleviating the feelings others are experiencing. If this was the case, this would be showing or indicating a slight disharmony to them, and thus are incorrectly labled as sympathetic.

In some circles a lack of sympathy has adopted the slang expression of "pulling a Theresa". This is in no way referential to Mother Theresa.

sympathy- feeling after hearing or listening or observing what others do. empathy- feeling by pure perception.

'Crazy' Sympathy

(Warning: incredibly unscientific language ahead) In tv shows/movies/etc. sometimes you see one mentally ill person freak out in a mental hospital who will then set the other patients 'off' with their actions - in my mind, similar to a babys' sympathy crying. Is there a proper term for that, or will I have to use that complex description for the rest of my life?  :) --Anoma lee 13:15, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

That's why it's it's on Television. Sorry to sound trollish but I'm really not sure what sort of response you could have expected from this. You really shouldn't base your conception of unknown aspects on the fiction you're bombarded with on a regular basis. I'm sure this is something everyone does, including myself, very routinely. In any case, as far as I can tell the behavior you described may be true - this is based on some antecdotal evidence (another horrifically unscientific aspect, but maybe that's the appropriate response to an unscientific question) and what little I understand about the environments that exist in mental health facilities. In any case, I don't think that one schizophrenic may drive another any crazier than the "normal" population they interact with, not any more than that extent to which they'd be driven by the conversations with normal people that they may interpret as hostile alien entities. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.253.36.46 (talk) 04:56, 4 December 2007 (UTC) Kate Barry is a sucker. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.138.64.52 (talk) 05:40, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

Do we need this article

What we have is a dictionary definition, not an entry in an encyclopedia. I propose we move the content to Wiktionary and replace the article with a link. WLior 17:04, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

WikiProject class rating

This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 04:28, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

what about the philosophy of sympathy?

That is what I clicked on the page to find out more about. There is the person who observes someone else's problems from a distance, someone who does not care, the person who helps but only to feel better about themselves. Even the Buddhists have opinions about sympathy. I think Susan Sontag, Foucault, and numerous others come at this from a philosophical perspective. This article could be amazing if someone took the time to do it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Awesomeblossom420 (talk • contribs) 16:49, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

Not worldwide view?

I don't see why that should be tag up there. Remove? Aurora sword (talk) 14:28, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Challenging the definition of empathy vs Sympathy

The sympathy definition here is, as noted above by BetacommandBot, not a much more than a dictionary definition.

Further, it is very confusing when compared to the definition of empathy: clear distinction between the two on any level (dictionary, philosophical, psychological, experiental) is not made, although such a difference is explicitly claimed.

Even more, the current definitions do not align very well with modern (western) definitions of sympathy (and empathy) from either dictionaries or psychological literature. I assume a similar problem with philosophical definitions.

Example:

Encarta English Dictionary (Microsoft, 2007):

1. Ability for sharing of of feelings: being able to understand, share or understand others' feelings

2. Feelings that are caused by sympathy (i.e. action of sympathy): what one feels when entering or sharing other person's feelings

3. Feeling alike - inclination to do so: inclination to feel/think like others

4. Agreement: harmony or agreement something/somebody

5. Loyalty/Allegiance: allegiance/loyalty to something/somebody

These multiple definitions are not captured here at Wikipedia nor are they capture in the Wiktionary.

Further, the psychological definition is not clear nor am I sure it is up-to-date.

Again quoting in paraphrased form, with meaning hopefully intact, from Encyclopedia of Psychology (APA, 2000):

Sympathy has varied definitions. Often the definition is:

Responding emotionally after understanding the emotions or condition of another person [note condition, in addition to emotion]. Thus it is a reaction to understanding, which can be followed by personal feelings of compassion, concern or other feelings toward that person towards which sympathy is directed. [Hence, it is NOT the same as living/feeling the emotions of other people. It is a personal emotive response to the condition/emotive state of others, after understanding this in the first place].

Thus, sympathy may be evoked by empathy, which in turn can be defined as mirroring - often intensively - the feeling of another person within oneself [that is feeling the same emotion - to the extent that is possible in the first place].

[Thus, empathy does not require understanding of other's emotional state (on an intellectual level), but merely experiencing itself emotionally and directly. Further, emotion does not include necessarily a concern or caring for what the other person is going through (a condition or emotive state)].

[Again, causally it is more likely to be :

empathy -> sympathy

However empathy does not need to exist before sympathy.

Then again, if a mirroring of other person's feelings happens, it is definitely empathy, not just sympathy. Further an intellectual orientation towards the needs of the person being sympathized/empathized with is again sympathy, not just pure empathy].

I think these definitions for sympathy and empathy, must both be clarified and made clearly distinct, both from dictionary and psychological literature point of view.

Otherwise just use Occam's razor: entities should not be multiplied unless necessary. Here however the need is clear, as the words are referring to clearly distinct psychological and experiental concepts.

Difficult to pick a user name (talk) 11:38, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

   == References ==

• Microsoft, (2007). Encarta English Dictionary, Microsoft
• Kazdin, Alan E. editor, (2000). Encyclopedia of Psychology, American Psychological Association.

Merge with Empathic Concern?

It seems that article is more concise, in any case. 66.195.102.82 (talk) 22:49, 18 February 2011 (UTC)