By Wilfred Reilly

Actually, We Need Less Empathy

In this context of present and constant unfairness, the greatest good becomes not “virtue” or “performance” but rather empathy. Do you feel for others? In fact, are you willing to curb or downgrade your own performance, to limit your innovation and joy, in order to help others — who might be failing simply because they were never given your chances to succeed (“If it saves just one life . . .”). Some “goods” consistently supported by advocates of these philosophies are avoidance of all risk to others, the experience and public display of empathy for others (both within and outside the in-group), avoidance of judgment about the behavior of others (who knows what might cause it?), and the display of suspicion for the successful.

http://cultureofempathy.com/References/Experts/Arlie-Russell-Hochschild.htm

" I think people feel afraid of empathy. Empathy is a dangerous thing, actually. Not only is it not of interest, but people are scared of it. If you empathize with the “enemy,” you're complicit. That tells you how fragile actually people feel in their membership. I often get told, I don't know why you do it, and I don't know how you do it.

That strikes me as one thing that I hope that my books do. First, to be a mirror on liberal subcultures. And the second is to invite people to not be alarmed at making room in their hearts for people who are very different. Making room doesn't mean you're any less who you are. I don't feel my politics change at all. I write my books to help people become bilingual."  Arlie Hochschild

As both an entertainment venture and a vehicle for social change, The World We Want Studios represents a new model for purpose-driven content creation. As Mudhar puts it, “Storytelling is our bridge to empathy – it allows us to live a thousand lives, understand diverse perspectives, and drive meaningful change in our own world. When issues are humanized through compelling narratives, they can mobilize resources, influence policies, and inspire action.”

Read Should Christians Be Concerned about 'Toxic

Empathy'? - grow your faith and be encouraged today!I think some people have had the same experience with “empathy” that I’ve had with milk. I keep hearing the phrase “toxic empathy” as a way to describe those people or situations where compassion seems to do more harm than good. But is there such a thing as toxic empathy? Isn’t empathy something all Christians should have? Doesn’t the Bible call us to be empathetic?

Over-reliance on AI for communication and problem-solving could erode our patience for human relationships.

By fostering empathy in our AI interactions, we can build a culture of mindful connection, offline and online.

Empathy starts with intention, in our interactions with ourselves, others, and AI.

Empathy is a facilitator of social, emotional, and cognitive wellbeing and achievement that can actualise teaching, learning and the self. Dr Helen Demetriou will present some of her research in empathy over the last three decades from the Institute of Psychiatry King’s College London to the Faculty of Education University of Cambridge, including early childhood empathy, pupil voice, teacher-pupil engagement, creativity in the classroom, and the most recent work using empathy interventions in schools that has shown an increase in empathic awareness, wellbeing and school engagement.

The scientific study of empathy has exploded in the past decade. Practically all of the relevant sciences — from various neuroscientific, psychological and sociological perspectives — are now vigorously participating in the emerging conversations about the nature of this essential, pro-social process.

Empathy is also emerging as a critical topic in medical education and practice, in terms of its essential relevance for not only the patient – physician relationship and bed-side practice, but also for diverse psychiatric problems and syndromes that demonstrate a fundamental disordering of empathy, particularly conduct disorder/sociopathy and autistic spectrum disorders.

Hashini Gunatilake

The study employs several data collection methods including surveys, expert interviews, and cognitive interviews with software practitioners. In the first phase, key constructs and dimensions of empathy relevant to SE contexts were identified using insights from existing literature and findings from a STGT study developing a theory of empathy in SE.

A candidate pool of items for the SE-oriented empathy scales was then developed by refining items from existing empathy scales and creating new items tailored to the unique intricacies of the SE context. A survey was conducted to collect feedback from software practitioners, who were asked to rate the relevance of each candidate item for measuring empathy in SE based on their experience and the provided definition of empathy.

Participants were also invited to edit items for clarity and simplicity, and suggest additional items they deemed important for an instrument designed to measure empathy in SE contexts. Based on this feedback, the candidate items were refined, and initial empathy scales were developed. Following scale development, the validation process involves multiple steps:

By David French

At the same time, hard-right Christians began to turn against the very idea of empathy. Last year a popular right-wing podcaster, Allie Beth Stuckey, published a best-selling book called “Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion.” This month, a right-wing theologian, Joe Rigney, is publishing a book called “The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits.”''

These attacks are rooted in the idea that progressives emotionally manipulate evangelicals into supporting causes they would otherwise reject. For example, if people respond to the foreign aid shutdown and the stop-work orders by talking about how children might suffer or die, then they’re exhibiting toxic empathy.

by Hannah Romero

Unfortunately, a negative view of empathy isn't entirely new in certain Christian circles, but is becoming even more mainstream in how it is presented. A 2019 article on the website Desiring God is titled "The Enticing Sin of Empathy." Christian content creator Allie Beth Stuckey published her book "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion" last October.

These types of writings present the idea that empathy is simply an emotion that is not connected to the actions of love or kindness, that it just means feeling what someone else is feeling, and that it can lead to sympathizing with wrong ways of thinking and promoting or condoning what the writers believe to be sinful choices, therefore making the feeling sinful as well. 

I believe this perspective towards empathy is dangerous. For one thing, writers like Stuckey twist words like "empathy" and define them in their own way. However, their complicated definitions and ideas get conflated with the idea of empathy as a whole, to the point that people begin to refer to empathy itself as a sin.

Empathy in the New World. For Ukrainians, this ability became a ray of strength during the most difficult periods

Empathy: disappearing or transforming?

Do the data indicate a loss of empathy? Probably not — it is adapting.

“Short-term stress causes a release of adrenaline, norepinephrine, and oxytocin, which contributes to mutual assistance. However, under the influence of prolonged stress, the body produces cortisol, which reduces oxytocin levels. This forces people to adapt to constant tension while simultaneously reducing emotional response,” he explains.

Oleg Pokalchuk adds that this process can be compared to falling in love: “A person cannot be in an ’emotional frenzy’ for several years in a row. The body gets used to stress, and even in an acute situation, reactions become less emotional.”

Neurobiologist and candidate of biological sciences Serhiy Danylov believes that empathy does not disappear, but transforms.

Graham Bodie, explains why there is no one-size-fits-all approach to listening, how our fluid identities shape our communication, and why daily practice of active listening can revolutionize both personal and professional relationships.

Discover practical strategies to pause, reflect, and truly hear others, paving the way for deeper connections and transformative leadership. Whether you're an entrepreneur, leader, or simply looking to enhance your communication skills, this conversation will empower you to harness the power of listening and drive meaningful change in your life and organization.

Chapters:
0:00 The Complexity and Importance of Listening
3:58 Listening Intelligence in Organizations
6:08 A Strategic Approach to Listening
9:28 The Speaking vs. Listening Anxiety
12:24 Insights on Listening
12:47 Personal Habits to Improve Listening Skills
13:09 A Challenge for Entrepreneurs
13:51 Final Thoughts

The ACE for Wildlife™ Network provides a variety of ways for its participants to share and learn about promoting empathy for animals and people, including events, resource libraries, and more. Discover how we can help you make a difference in conservation.

The Global Empathy in Healthcare Network Symposium: ‘Rehumanising Healthcare in a Divided World’ is open to healthcare professionals, researchers, educators, and advocates from around the world.

With members from the UK, US, Australia, Brazil, Nigeria, and beyond, the network is a truly global organisation united in its commitment to restoring empathy and human connection in healthcare.

In today’s increasingly digital and fragmented healthcare systems, empathy is more crucial than ever.

This symposium will bring together thought leaders, practitioners, and innovators to examine how we can rehumanise care in an era of technological advancements, remote interactions, and rising healthcare divides.

Through keynote presentations, workshops, and collaborative discussions, attendees will explore practical strategies for integrating empathy into digital platforms, overcoming barriers to human connection, and addressing the challenges posed by an often impersonal, tech-driven healthcare environment.

This event offers a unique opportunity to connect with global experts, share insights, and learn actionable solutions for fostering compassionate, patient-centred care in a digital world.

WHEN: 15-16 September 2025

Equitable empathy is a necessary practice for creating healthy, antiracist institutions of learning, especially at predominantly white universities like ours.

In our combined decades of experience with equity in public schools—first as urban teachers and now as professors of early, elementary, and secondary education—we often appeal to empathy. And in fact, empathy is foundational to the work of social justice. However, as we provide equity training for universities, we see again and again the way white faculty misunderstand and misuse empathy and in so doing, impede rather than advance the work of equity.  

Empathy, often considered a uniquely human trait, is increasingly being recognized in the animal kingdom. Many animals form deep emotional bonds and show genuine concern for the well-being of others. These behaviors go beyond simple instincts, suggesting a more complex understanding of emotions. The remarkable ways animals display empathy continue to fascinate scientists and challenge our perceptions of emotional intelligence, offering fresh perspectives on the emotional lives of non-human species. These discoveries are reshaping how we view the emotional complexity and capacity for empathy in the animal world.

A warmhearted if somewhat naive sense of conviviality runs through “Dancing with All: The Ecology of Empathy,” the exhibition commemorating the twentieth anniversary of this venerable regional institution dedicated to contemporary art.

Bringing together more than sixty artists and groups from over a dozen regions and countries, the exhibition aims to address the museum’s 2025 theme of “new ecologies,” which, while ambitiously proposed as an all-encompassing framework that takes “into account society, the psyche and information,” is not formulated through a political or polemical perspective. Instead, it presents the museum as a utopian space where everything—human and nonhuman—“begins to dance, to move, to connect, to change.”

A practical guide to creating intimacy, self-understanding, and lasting love

Arthur P. Ciaramicoli’s “The Power of Empathy” isn’t just about feeling what others feel; it’s a practical guide to using empathy to build stronger relationships, achieve personal growth, and navigate the complexities of life more effectively. The book emphasizes that empathy isn’t a passive emotion; it’s an active skill that can be learned and honed. It’s about understanding and sharing the feelings of others, while maintaining a sense of self. This understanding forms the basis for genuine connection and positive interactions.