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<\/a>\n\n\n\nSympathy is Sharing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\u2018Sympathy\u2019 is a word that, in terms of the English dictionary at least, has been around a lot longer than the word \u2018empathy\u2019 \u2013 300 years longer to be precise. And like \u2018empathy\u2019 is has its origins in Greek with the suffix \u2018pathy\u2019 being derived from the Greek word \u2018pathos\u2019, meaning being related to feelings and emotion (and also suffering).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The easiest way to understand \u2018sympathy\u2019 is to take a moment to consider the types of greetings cards that people send in times of misfortune for others. For example, when someone dies, a common act is to send a sympathy card. And the purpose of doing that? Well, it is to show a particular person or family that we are sharing our heartfelt feelings at their loss. That we are thinking of them. That we acknowledge that they are suffering and that we feel for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They key word here is \u2018sharing\u2019. We show, through an act or with words, that we recognize the sorrow that another person is feeling. And in recognizing that, we show support, and solidarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And another way to think about sympathy is to consider someone who is \u2018unsympathetic\u2019. That is, someone who makes no acknowledgement to the way another person is feeling. Have you ever had a boss like that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And another thing. Giving \u2018sympathy\u2019 does not mean that you must have experienced the same fate yourself. It is possible to recognize that someone is suffering even if you have never lived the same experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is also important to recognize that sympathy has another, connected meaning in English. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have sympathy with those people who want the laws to be changed.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nIn this statement, someone is admitting that they approve of those people of whom they speak. Now, that \u2018sympathy\u2019 may stop short of actual support, but it is recognizing that those people deserve to feel the way they do. This is a common refrain of a politician who may recognize that voters are upset, but is admitting that he or she cannot change the situation, for one reason or another.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n
Empathy is Understanding<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAnd so that brings us to \u2018empathy\u2019. 300 years younger than sympathy \u2013 at least in terms of being recognized in the English dictionary \u2013 this is another word derived from Greek with that \u2018pathos\u2019 suffix, meaning emotion and feelings. Indeed, emotions and feelings are an essential ingredient to \u2018empathy\u2019, just as they are with \u2018sympathy\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that does not mean that \u2018empathy\u2019 can be used as a synonym of \u2018sympathy\u2019. In fact, doing this may result in causing great offence. That is because \u2018empathy\u2019 is connected deeply with understanding, rather than just recognition of a feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let us compare two different situations to clearly state the difference between \u2018sympathy\u2019 and \u2018empathy\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone suffers from a disability. Perhaps they lose their sight. Now, although most of us could try and imagine what that must be like, the fact is that we cannot know what it is like to not be able to see unless we actually cannot see. In short, you cannot have empathy with someone who is blind unless you are blind yourself. And if someone loses their sight, we can offer deep sympathy, not empathy unless we too cannot see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then let us again consider the situation of bereavement \u2013 when someone experiences the loss of a loved one. Due to the very nature of life, that is something that every single one of us will experience ourselves. And when we do, and then later on someone we know suffers the same or similar experience, we can relate our own understanding of their emotions directly to the emotions we experience. That is emotional understanding. And that is \u2018empathy\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, no two people experience things in the same way. But if someone\u2019s experience triggers connected feelings to your own experience, then you are experiencing feelings of empathy. Because you are in that other person\u2019s shoes in your own mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
‘Sympathy’ vs. ’empathy’: one other difference<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nSo we have seen that \u2018sympathy\u2019 is sharing in another person\u2019s feeling while \u2018empathy\u2019 is understanding it, probably because you have suffered the same or a similar fate yourself. But there is another crucial difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Sympathy\u2019 is always offered in a time of emotional sadness. For example, you do not send a sympathy greeting card when someone is getting married or gets a new job. If you did, that would be suggesting they have married the wrong person or that you do not approve of that job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Empathy, on the other hand, does not need to be connected to a negative feeling. For example, someone who has won the lottery can be empathetic with someone else who wins the lottery. And to most people, that is not a situation that calls for feelings of sadness. It simply means that one lottery winner can understand the probable emotions evident in another lottery winner. That\u2019s empathy.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Sympathetic\u2019 and \u2018empathetic\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\u2018Sympathy\u2019 and \u2018empathy\u2019 are nouns. The related adjectives are \u2018sympathetic\u2019 and \u2018empathetic\u2019, with the opposite adjectives being \u2018unsympathetic and \u2018unempathetic\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have sympathy with those people who want the laws to be changed.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In this statement, someone is admitting that they approve of those people of whom they speak. Now, that \u2018sympathy\u2019 may stop short of actual support, but it is recognizing that those people deserve to feel the way they do. This is a common refrain of a politician who may recognize that voters are upset, but is admitting that he or she cannot change the situation, for one reason or another.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n And so that brings us to \u2018empathy\u2019. 300 years younger than sympathy \u2013 at least in terms of being recognized in the English dictionary \u2013 this is another word derived from Greek with that \u2018pathos\u2019 suffix, meaning emotion and feelings. Indeed, emotions and feelings are an essential ingredient to \u2018empathy\u2019, just as they are with \u2018sympathy\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that does not mean that \u2018empathy\u2019 can be used as a synonym of \u2018sympathy\u2019. In fact, doing this may result in causing great offence. That is because \u2018empathy\u2019 is connected deeply with understanding, rather than just recognition of a feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us compare two different situations to clearly state the difference between \u2018sympathy\u2019 and \u2018empathy\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Someone suffers from a disability. Perhaps they lose their sight. Now, although most of us could try and imagine what that must be like, the fact is that we cannot know what it is like to not be able to see unless we actually cannot see. In short, you cannot have empathy with someone who is blind unless you are blind yourself. And if someone loses their sight, we can offer deep sympathy, not empathy unless we too cannot see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then let us again consider the situation of bereavement \u2013 when someone experiences the loss of a loved one. Due to the very nature of life, that is something that every single one of us will experience ourselves. And when we do, and then later on someone we know suffers the same or similar experience, we can relate our own understanding of their emotions directly to the emotions we experience. That is emotional understanding. And that is \u2018empathy\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, no two people experience things in the same way. But if someone\u2019s experience triggers connected feelings to your own experience, then you are experiencing feelings of empathy. Because you are in that other person\u2019s shoes in your own mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we have seen that \u2018sympathy\u2019 is sharing in another person\u2019s feeling while \u2018empathy\u2019 is understanding it, probably because you have suffered the same or a similar fate yourself. But there is another crucial difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Sympathy\u2019 is always offered in a time of emotional sadness. For example, you do not send a sympathy greeting card when someone is getting married or gets a new job. If you did, that would be suggesting they have married the wrong person or that you do not approve of that job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Empathy, on the other hand, does not need to be connected to a negative feeling. For example, someone who has won the lottery can be empathetic with someone else who wins the lottery. And to most people, that is not a situation that calls for feelings of sadness. It simply means that one lottery winner can understand the probable emotions evident in another lottery winner. That\u2019s empathy.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Sympathy\u2019 and \u2018empathy\u2019 are nouns. The related adjectives are \u2018sympathetic\u2019 and \u2018empathetic\u2019, with the opposite adjectives being \u2018unsympathetic and \u2018unempathetic\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nEmpathy is Understanding<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
‘Sympathy’ vs. ’empathy’: one other difference<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Sympathetic\u2019 and \u2018empathetic\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n