I think empathy is misunderstood. Especially this notion that having empathy is a proxy for being a good person.
Consider the sadist. You cannot enjoy someone’s suffering if you can’t recognize it. Being manipulative would also be difficult without a grasp of someone’s inner life. A confidence artist must be an empath. A “cold read” psychic must be uniquely empathetic.
In 1921 Hitler gave a speech where he promised to put Jewish people into camps to see “how they like it”. (he was upset about WWI German POWs and blamed Jewish people for their long internment). So Hitler did recognize Jewish people as human and capable of suffering; that was the point.
There’s a big difference between academically knowing how a person feels–in a disconnected way–and actually being able to relate to that feeling as if you were experiencing it yourself.
Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings and emotions of another person.
You’re right that it’s trivial to find examples of bad people who understand the emotions and feelings of others, but it’s a lot harder to be a bad person when you can share those emotions and feelings yourself.
I think empathy is misunderstood. Especially this notion that having empathy is a proxy for being a good person.
Consider the sadist. You cannot enjoy someone’s suffering if you can’t recognize it. Being manipulative would also be difficult without a grasp of someone’s inner life. A confidence artist must be an empath. A “cold read” psychic must be uniquely empathetic.
In 1921 Hitler gave a speech where he promised to put Jewish people into camps to see “how they like it”. (he was upset about WWI German POWs and blamed Jewish people for their long internment). So Hitler did recognize Jewish people as human and capable of suffering; that was the point.
There’s a big difference between academically knowing how a person feels–in a disconnected way–and actually being able to relate to that feeling as if you were experiencing it yourself.
Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings and emotions of another person.
You’re right that it’s trivial to find examples of bad people who understand the emotions and feelings of others, but it’s a lot harder to be a bad person when you can share those emotions and feelings yourself.