Empathy/sympathy

[Ink]

Is this something you are good at? Should we try to be good at it?

 

[Brontosaurie]

it's rather useful methinks

and quite fun

 

[intpz]

This is at least the second post in which you ask how you should live, which is contrary to INTP's "don't tell me how I should act, I wanna be free of rules" logic.

 

[snafupants]

I have far more intellectual/natural empathy than widespread/hemorrhaging sympathy. The notion of compassion and collective suffering disquiets me somewhat and I normally repudiate those feelings in myself and others. So many Christian virtues - compassion, meekness, and chastity - are propagandized hogwash and subtle population control stratagems. Anyway, this vestigial sentiment of compassion seems to be mercilessly exploited by the media via perennial pretty girl kidnappings, handicap feel-good stories, and disaster coverage. Sympathize at your own risk.

 

[Brontosaurie]

This is at least the second post in which you ask how you should live, which is contrary to INTP's "don't tell me how I should act, I wanna be free of rules" logic.

lol twat

he's bringing something up for discussion not asking for hard and fast rules

 

[Vladimir]

I'm ok at sympathy. Maybe not so much empathy. I think we should try to at least familiarize ourselves with the two, since we do live in a world with people different from ourselves, and we cannot avoid them forever.

 

[intpz]

lol twat

he's bringing something up for discussion not asking for hard and fast rules

"Should we try to be good at it?"
"Should we be confident?"

 

[NinjaSurfer]

I have lots of empathy

yet I have little to no sympathy

I'm sure there's a thin overlap of the Venn Diagram where both terms mean the same thing;

I define empathy as: I know how you feel

I define sympathy as: I care about how you feel, and I really don't. Well, I try not to let others' feelings affect me;

Like, for example, when a little boy drops his ice cream cone upside down on the ground, I'm more apt to laugh than feel sorry for him, even though I know his world just got turned upside down along with his ice cream cone.

 

[Ink]

"Should we try to be good at it?"
"Should we be confident?"

If you don't like it ignore it

 

[intpz]

@NinjaSurfer I do know how people feel, body language, facial expressions, etc..

Why should I ignore it?

 

[Ink]

I am working on my lesser functions dude, seeing as you score "100% I" I think you should join me

 

[intpz]

Why the change of topic?

 

[RadicalDreamer31]

As for a practical application of Sympathy/empathy. If one wishes to communicate effectively, one needs to be aware of the conditions of thier audience. Other wise you find your statements to be completely irrelevant, and may fall into needless and meaningless arguments, in example the previous posts on this topic.

 

[Turniphead]

I'm good at empathy with people that I am close to.
I'm terrible at empathy with things like news stories about car crashes and disasters.


P.S. Arghh... people, stop quoting intpz. Ignore lists don't work when people on them are quoted.

 

[intpz]

P.S. Arghh... people, stop quoting intpz. Ignore lists don't work when people on them are quoted.

But I like being quoted.

 

[NinjaSurfer]

@NinjaSurfer I do know how people feel, body language, facial expressions, etc..

Why should I ignore it?

I don't know if I was professing what one should or shouldn't do;

I think empathy is a skill, therefore it should be worked on just to improve own welfare, if that's something you care about;

sympathy is really "meh" in my case; I don't care to receive it, therefore I don't see any point in giving it; seems very superficial, at least from a "thinker's" perspective;

of course, we all kind of yearn for sympathy (i.e. others feeling sorry for us) every once in a while, right?

but, it's really something that should be decided on a case-by-case basis, where generally I am against giving sympathy; some people like it, some people don't care for it, it's really a preference type of thing

 

[Introspective]

I used to think I had "empathy" because I could look at a situation so objectively as to be able to argue quite successfully for both sides. Then I realized that had nothing to do with feelings.

 

[Etheri]

I'm good at empathy with people that I am close to.
I'm terrible at empathy with things like news stories about car crashes and disasters.

^this

I can easily empathise with people that I'm close to and genuinly care for. Both in good and bad situations. In a way, it feels as if I copy their mood.
Also, I cannot empathise whenever I think people are being stupid. No matter howmuch I care for them, if I think they're just being plain stupid, I can't do it.
As for the rest of the world, not a single fuck was given, sorry.

 

[intpz]

It's fun arguing for both sides, you straighten them both out, or piss them both off. But you have fun while doing it.

 

[oscillatingfractal]

I often empathize with other people's pain, but not so much with other types of feelings. I consciously toss out any sympathy for specific people who's caused me grief. That's my form of revenge.

Empathy and sympathy have both been proven useful to me, especially in strengthening friendship and gaining acceptance.

 

[knight in battle]

This is at least the second post in which you ask how you should live, which is contrary to INTP's "don't tell me how I should act, I wanna be free of rules" logic.

I know an INTP who follows religious rules. Is that contrary to logic?

 

[TriflinThomas]

Empathy, yes. Sympathy, no.

 

[intpz]

I know an INTP who follows religious rules. Is that contrary to logic?

No. Believing in a superior being who oversees everything, however, is.

 

[SnowlyWhite]

empathy - a ton;

sympathy - well, I always thought that a smart person should cooperate with others(if we all would cooperate, etc.). Yet, practicing what I preach most often proved hard(stupidity or pettiness tends to kill sympathy pretty fast - in my case, pettiness much more than stupidity).

By nature, I'm a sympathetic person, yet noticing too often the people I've helped turning and harming someone else later killed alot of the initial sympathy.