Why We Need Empathy More Than More Than Ever?

“Empathy” is a puzzling word. Empathy is discerning what another person is thinking or feeling. It allows one to step into another’s shoes and understand his or her emotions. It breaks open the door of our moral concern and allows us to share another’s pain.

Roman Krznaric explains to us the essence of affective empathy and cognitive empathy, and the pros and cons of both in his article, “The one thing that could save the world: Why we need empathy more than ever.” Krznaric provides factual and scientific evidence after every point, leaving a greater impact on the reader. Furthermore, his references to powerful and influential people make his article all the more persuasive.

Krznaric quotes a Yale psychologist, Paul Bloom, with whom I strongly
Latest neuroscience research has proven that 98% of us have the capacity to empathize wired into our brains but our experiences in life will strengthen it or change it. Since is easily influenced by the conditions and environment we live in, most of us restrict ourselves from empathizing with anyone other than our families, friends and close relatives. As I live in India, I have personally witnessed many Indians, unknowingly, disregard the grimy, poor children living on the streets. If I were to empathize strongly with the families living under boxes near sewages, I would probably go insane because there would be too many families stricken with poverty. Less than half of India’s population fights poverty almost everyday so I wouldn’t even know where to begin. The rising numbers of impecunious families would easily intimidate me and I would gradually cut of empathizing for the poor
Volumes of psychological research show that we empathize towards those who are like us than those who are not. This may be because it is easier for us to connect with those who look like us or share our ethnic or national background. Isn’t

it true, though? We find it easier to empathize with our in-group – people of a similar socioeconomic or cultural background to our own - only because we feel like we have a deeper and stronger bond with them. But the answer isn’t to discard empathy. Rather, we must expand our empathy to those who are not like us. Empathy is a dynamic quality. It can be broken down into two sorts: cognitive empathy and affective empathy. Cognitive empathy looks at consciously stepping into ones shows and imagining the world from their perspective whereas affective empathy is our mirror for reflecting others’ emotions. The niftiest thing about empathy is that one can effortlessly switch from cognitive to affective empathy or vice-versa. For example, clever doctors aim not to feel their patient’s hurt, but to understand it, so that they can respond fittingly. So the doctor knows to draw, instead, on their capacity to cognitive empathy. Hence, it is highly unlikely that too much empathy can lead to “empathetic burnout.” Thus, fluctuating between the two kinds of empathy when empathizing with one can create a balance between emotions and understanding. The combination of both allows us to truly empathize with