Monday 28 March 2011

Compassion, empathy & sympathy - are they different?

File:US Navy 110315-N-5503T-474 Naval Aircrewman 2nd Class Chris Carringer, assigned to the Black Knights of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 4, .jpg
Sympathy means feeling for someone usually because they are in pain - because you're both human beings.

Empathy means feeling for someone usually because they are in pain - because you're both human beings AND you've had similar (sufficiently similar) experience.

Compassion means having either sympathy or empathy and acting in one or more ways to ease their pain.

What do you think?  Do these distinctions work OK for you?

Posted via email from sunwalking's posterous

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