on empathy

i was thinking today about empathy. one of our noon teaching conferences focused on physician-patient communication. our fellowship director, T.M., was talking about empathy. T. M. was an English major in undergrad and he was describing the origin of the word, from the Greek εμπάθεια, suggested "to make suffer". the word empathy itself is a later translation into English from the German "Einfühlung" first coined by the philosopher Robert Vischer (1847-1933). apparently he was referring to "sympathy with art" and how you were to appreciate an art piece by imagining what the artist was feeling at the time he was creating it.

according to Merriam-Webster, the definition of empathy:

1 : the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it
2 : the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner

the wording of the Merriam-Webster definition confuses me a little, but essentially i believe it means to understand and to feel for someone and even beyond this - to try to place yourself where they are and see things the way that they do. the importance of this in the medical profession is that it allows for us to take better care of our patients. it guides us to be more compassionate. it demands that we are always attentive to our primary focus - the patient - and that we continually act on their behalf, as this is what we would want if we were actually in their position.

not just in the medical field, but in all aspects of life - isn't this important? i should always try to be more considerate of others. i should always try to understand for others - because people may never really tell you the hurt they are feeling or the difficulties they are going through. they may not be able to tell you or they may not be able to admit it to themselves. or they may not necessarily be able to see it for themselves.

it is always kinder to try to protect others' vulnerabilities and help them to grow to happier places.