Research Paper on Empathy Essay

The purpose of this essay is to define empathy and discuss its use on how it is employ on a daily basis and what makes concourse feel empathy for others. Empathy is being able to feel and come across what another person is freeing through or what they have experienced. Typically, it would be a happiness, sadness or anger that would immediately affect how we feel, we would generally feel the same emotion as the person we are in contact with, where as sympathy we would be in agreement on the emotion, really just respecting unity another. Empathy is utilise as a noun, the lexicon meaning for empathy is the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the skin perceptivenesss, thoughts, or attitudes of another. The second dictionary meaning of empathy is, the imaginative ascribing to an object, as a natural object or work of art, feelings or attitudes present in one ego.Empathy is became apart of the English language in 1909 by E.B. Titchener, while try to trans late the German word Einfhlungsvermgen. by and by near the end of the 19th century it was changed to empathie and is now being apply as that in Germany. The German meaning of empathy is, physical affection, affectionateness, partiality and also passion or suffering. The word was founded by Hermann Lotze and Robert Vischer to be added to the German language as Einfhlung which means (feeling into) while later Edward B. Titchener translated to the English term Empathy. Empathy, in the 1900-05, was also used from the Greek word emptheia which in turns means affection.Empathy is used in so many forms and has so many definitions and starts off being imaginative. Imagining how the other person feels, lay yourself in the other person shoes and being able to feel what the person is going to through. Empathy involves being able to understand the emotional advance how people feel, empathy would be described as a bodily feeling. Bodily feelings include body language, facial expression, and tone of voice. Being able to relate to one of the future(a) and immediately responding to it is what empathy is. Automatically knowing what the other person is thinking and in turn making you feel the way the other person feels.Scientifically, some scientist trust that empathy is linked to observing another persons emotional state activates parts of the neuronal network involved in processing that same state in oneself. Certain objects are known to automatically activate neural representations, and activation automatically to prime or generate the associated autonomic and somatic responses, unless inhibited. This real example that scientist have worked on trying to prove, is compared to common coding theory between perception and action. Meaning empathy is determined by whatever activity is going on around the person and how the brain perceives it. This theory also means that some people may have beliefs that are different from ones own, and is thought to involve the cognitive c omponent of empathy. Empathy has been linked to be genetically inherited in our DNA its labeled as traditional science and used as alternative healing practioners.Empathy has been linked to being associated with mental trouble oneselfs give care, Psychopathy, Narcissistic personality disorder, Sadistic personality disorder, Anger and Distress. These kinds of disorders have been known to scientist to cause quick activity of neurotransmitters that deal with emotion and personality. Like psychopathy, some are able to pick up on others theory of mind mimic others emotionally and incline others their feeling a certain way when they really are not. In some cases psychopaths may be able to sense what others are feeling only when may not be able to put themselves in their position. This shows that empathy in the brain waves of psychopaths are dysfunctional. Another mental disorder would be Narcissist one feeling them own self and unable to feel for others.So with this being said they w ould lack empathy to protect and make them self feel secure for the stake of their own vulnerability. Now Sadistic disorder this is most likely shown in 16 to 18 year old boys with aggressive problems. This is a conduct disorder where the boys showed too much aggression. Performing violent behaviors and taking pleasure out of other peoples pain. Showing no sign of empathy for the victims of these violent crimes at all. Emotion like anger is another form linking to empathy. When people get angry over a certain situation soulfulness else that is close to them would immediately feel what their feeling also.Anger has a affect on certain people directly and indirectly its known to triggers states of empathetic angers. Empathy and anger linked together has been investigated as negatively charged arousal. That was only if empathetic behavior triggered a response to anger. Distress is also another form of empathy, feeling pain for somebody else which in turn bath immediately turn into e mpathetic anger for somebody else. This would include feelings such as guilt and injustice, etc. Some scientist say this can be seen as pro social and moral behavior.These are some example statements to define what empathy means. Jean Decety A sense of similarity in feelings experienced by the self and the other, without confusion between the two individuals. Frans de Waal The capacity to (a) be affected by and share the emotional state of another, (b) assess the reasons for the others state, and (c) identify with the other, adopting his or her perspective. This denition extends beyond what exists in many animals, but the term empathy applies even if only criterion (a) is met. Alvin Goldman The ability to put oneself into the mental shoes of another person to understand her emotions and feelings.Heinz Kohut Empathy is the capacity to think and feel oneself into the inner life of another person. Wynn Schwartz We recognize others as empathic when we feel that they have accurately act ed on or somehow acknowledged in stated or unstated fashion our values or motivations, our knowledge, and our skills or competence, but especially as they appear to recognize the deduction of our actions in a manner that we can tolerate their being recognized. In conclusion, empathy is a strong emotion exerted from an emotional level to feel, think and understand what somebody else is feeling at the time of any emotion they may be experiencing.Referenceshttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathyhttp//dictionary.reference.com/browse/empathy?s=thttp//healing.about.com/cs/empathic/a/uc_empathtraits.htm