Post #1359635
2026-04-06 12:31 UTC
@Susan60
It seems to be similar to the topic of "intelligence", that most people have an intuitive sense of what it means and how to identify it, while defining it very narrowly and vague at the same time.
I also think it doesn't help, that most people see it as one thing you have, instead of a range of behaviors (and a large and complex topic), that can in large parts be automatic and involuntary, but can also involve a lot of active learning and doing.
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Replies (1)
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@hauchvonstaub@nrw.social 2026-04-06 12:36
@Susan60 Here we also have to old "you can't learn what you already think you know"-problem, not only in regards to understanding empathy better, but also in regards to becoming more empathic, by being curious and trying to learn more about other people, instead of assuming you already know. A lot of what's considered empathy is this "assuming to already know", based on an intuitive impression, so being less reliant on it can make you seem less empathic, even if you have more insight. 2/