Those are the two main associations of empathy, but empathy can appear as one or the other without both.Lil devils x said:I have always understood empathy to mean to share the feelings of another. While understanding their motive, I would think to share those feelings, I would have to somewhat agree with them on some level. From what I have seen of Mobster movies, they think, feel and do the opposite of what I do, so I guess I pretty much view them as mindless Neanderthals for the most part rather than what I would call "empathizing " with them. Mobsters always came across to me as being dumbasses for the most part. They are ignorant, abusive, selfish, careless, gluttonous, jealous, vengeful, greedy.. all the worst in one package taking no care of their impact on the world. It makes it difficult for me to empathize with that mindset.m?pa?thy
/ˈempəTH?/
noun
noun: empathy
the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
I'll admit mobsters are an extreme case. But look at it this way- have you ever watched a crime film, let's say a heist film, where you feel like you fully understand the robbers' motivations for doing a robbery, even if you yourself would never rob a bank? How about a Darth Vader figure- fights for the wrong side, but you can understand how they ended up there? A supervillain who genuinely believes that a genocide might prevent something even worse from happening? If it's something you would never do yourself, yet you can honestly see clearly why that character behaves the way that they do, then you have empathy for that character, even if you don't agree with them. Edward Norton once put it quite well:
The actor doesn't just have to empathise with a character that may be totally unlike the actor themselves, but they have to do it in such a way that the audience will empathise with that character, too."I've always thought of acting as more of an exercise in empathy, which is not to be confused with sympathy. You're trying to get inside a certain emotional reality or motivational reality and try to figure out what that's about so you can represent it."