Empathy – Science and even religion might not get it

This has moved – https://epages.wordpress.com/?s=Empathy+-+Science+and+even+religion

Contemporary psychologists usually say that the empath physiologically mirrors another person’s emotions based on observable cues. Religious teachings maintain that the empath feels another’s emotions because of a mystical connection among all people, with some mystical schools extending this to all living beings, organisms, and even inorganic materials like rocks, gems, and stones.

Some apparently advanced mystics claim to know another’s thoughts and feel their emotions – called the reading of hearts in Catholicism – near or at a distance without any observable cues.

Reading of Hearts. The knowledge of the secret thoughts of others or of their internal state without communication is known as reading of hearts. The certain knowledge of the secret thoughts of others is truly super-natural, since the devil has no access to the spiritual faculties of men and no human being can know the mind of another unless it is in some way communicated. But knowledge of the secrets of another’s heart may be conjectured by the devil and transmitted to a person, or they may be surmised by a deluded individual who takes his conjectures to be supernatural illuminations.¹

It’s hard to know if empathy is widespread or rare. Many would not want to talk about their empathetic abilities for fear of ridicule. Along these lines, the psychiatrist Carl Jung believed that most individuals are reluctant to share their experience of the paranormal.

It’s crucial to distinguish empathy from psychopathy. While both involve an ability to sense others’ emotions, psychopaths may try to use that ability to manipulate and exploit. Empaths, on the other hand, strive to apply their abilities to increase the common good.

Psychopaths perceive others’ thoughts and feelings but use their ability to manipulate and exploit

The idea of empathy has been thoroughly explored in science fiction and fantasy. When I was a kid, sci-fi in the 1960s and 70s suffered discrimination from literary snobs. But over time the public realized that sci-fi and fantasy is a great place for fleshing out new ideas trivialized by small-minded elitists and diminished by conventional science. Also, fans now realize that sci-fi and fantasy can be powerful art, whereas in the past the genre was assumed to be mostly schlock.

Google Gemini reveals a lingering cultural bias by suggesting the following when asked to improve this article:

Include disclaimers that the concept of “empath” is not recognized in mainstream psychology, and the information presented comes from various sources including personal experiences and spiritual beliefs.

A disclaimer is usually offered to limit legal liability, which demonstrates how thoroughly science, intermingled with funding and law, has become the new religion of the 21st century—even if this involves arguably weak disciplines like psychiatry and psychology. Meanwhile what we actually experience takes a backseat in terms of perceived legitimacy. Ordinary researchers who may never develop advanced spirituality are implied by Gemini to “know better,” just as in some religions like Catholicism a spiritual director apparently “knows better” than an individual believer.

This may be true in some instances. But individual exceptionalism is at risk of being stamped out or tragically marginalized if we take the sometimes shaky claims of both science and religion too seriously. Instead of mindlessly accepting cookie-cutter solutions to unanswered questions, we’d do well to approach experiences of empathy as impressions subject to further investigation.

—

¹ AUMANN, J. “Mystical Phenomena.” New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 105-109. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.