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Guilherme Mazui

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What is the Difference Between Empathy and Sympathy?

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The main difference between empathy and sympathy lies in the level of emotional connection and understanding each term represents:

  • Empathy is the ability to understand and share a person's feelings. It involves feeling what someone else feels, putting yourself in their shoes, and imagining their emotional state without necessarily sharing their emotions. Empathy fosters a deeper connection and understanding of the other person's emotions without judgment.
  • Sympathy, on the other hand, is a feeling of compassion, sorrow, or pity for the hardships that another person encounters. It involves understanding someone else's emotions from your own perspective, which may lead to judgment and a sense of separation between you and the person experiencing the hardship.

In summary, empathy involves feeling and understanding someone's emotions from their perspective, while sympathy involves understanding someone's emotions from your own perspective, often with feelings of pity or compassion. Empathy fosters a deeper connection, while sympathy may create a sense of separation.

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  • What is the Difference Between Empathy and Sympathy?
  • Comparative Table: Empathy vs Sympathy

    • Comparative Table: Empathy vs Sympathy

    Here is a table comparing the differences between empathy and sympathy:

    Characteristic Empathy Sympathy
    Definition The ability to understand and share another person's feelings The feeling of care and pity for another person's problems
    Perspective Feels emotions from the other person's point of view Understands emotions from one's own perspective
    Connection Creates a deeper connection with the person experiencing the emotion Creates a feeling of separation between the person and the observer
    Reaction Provides a safe space for the person to express their emotions Moves into problem-solving mode and may offer unhelpful judgments
    Examples Empathy occurs when you start feeling the pain and hardship which another person is experiencing.
    Example: After Aamir lost his favorite bike to thieves, he felt empathy for his sister who lost her phone last month.
    Sympathy arises as a result of pity for negative experiences.
    Example: Don’t you have any sympathy with the cancer survivors?    		 Sympathy is expressed for the other person.
    Example: Sympathy for a person arises as a result of pity for negative experiences.
    Empathy is shared with the person.
    Example: Don’t you have any sympathy with the cancer survivors?

    In summary, empathy involves understanding and sharing another person's feelings, creating a deeper connection and providing a safe space for the person to express their emotions. On the other hand, sympathy involves feeling pity for another person's problems and may lead to a feeling of separation between the person and the observer. Sympathy often moves into problem-solving mode and may offer unhelpful judgments.

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    Guilherme Mazui

    Guilherme Mazui is graduated in journalism from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and a master's degree in Communication from the University of São Paulo (USP). In addition, he has experience in advertising writing and has worked as a content editor in several companies.