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Empathy goes beyond understanding what other person is feeling. Psychopaths (to some extent autistic people, too, and other types of disorders) have no empathy yet claim to understand the thought processes as well as emotion of other people. They just utilize it as a tool, they do not form boundaries within themselves based on the Golden Rule of Ethics, which stems from empathy.

I think the definition should include that internalization, or mirroring of another person's feelings, an acknowledgement that goes beyond "understanding." Galehautt ( talk) 08:58, 24 January 2023 (UTC) reply

I removed the following paragraph:

"Early ^{clarification needed} indicators for a lack of empathy:

1. Frequently finding oneself in prolonged arguments
2. Forming opinions early and defending them vigorously
3. Thinking that other people are overly sensitive
4. Refusing to listen to other points of view
5. Blaming others for mistakes
6. Not listening when spoken to
7. Holding grudges and having difficulty to forgive
8. Inability to work in a team ^{citation needed}"

Original revision where the list was added: https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Empathy&diff=prev&oldid=819626540

It was a highly specific list for which a source was not added since 2018. I will try finding some source for it and maybe it can be added again; I made this section in case someone wishes to help finding sources or wants to discuss whether the list belongs to the article.

Thank you for reading this. Apolo234 ( talk) 08:50, 3 February 2023 (UTC) reply

Clinical empathy is the skill for doctors, physicians, and other practicing medical professionals ought to take into their practices daily. Medical professionals also tend to change the meaning of empathy, seeing as detachment can be helpful in high stress situations. However, understanding how patients feel in these similar situations can be beneficial to treating many individuals as well. ~~~~ Ethanbonham ( talk) 03:26, 26 September 2023 (UTC) reply

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 25 September 2023 and 15 December 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Dududungha ( article contribs). Peer reviewers: Jh004, Mingyili009, Jonathany1pp.

— Assignment last updated by Jonathany1pp ( talk) 23:57, 11 November 2023 (UTC) reply

This part of this article is not true nor is it founded in research. This inaccurate, biased, uniformed statement perpetuates the myth that autistic people lack empathy. This myth has been imagined and disseminated by non-autistic 'researchers' who view autistic behaviour and appearances from a normative, neurotypical framework. Here is the harmful statement: "Because empathy is rooted in our ability to imitate their painful experience, people with disorders that inhibit them from social understanding/connection may experience difficulty portraying empathy for others. The people could include individuals diagnosed with Asperger's or autism." Please delete these sentences for the above reasons, but also because humans can also experience empathy for positive experiences not just painful. Samoidsamurai ( talk) 22:54, 13 February 2024 (UTC) reply

I understand that this can seem biased. According to various research, even ones that have been done in the last five years, there are connections between struggles with empathy and autism. I agree that it should be reworded nonetheless. I will search for another source to add that clarifies your point. Mic20020 ( talk) 20:41, 15 March 2024 (UTC) reply