To be fair, a dirty little secret is that the vast majority of people don't have the ability to actually sympathize either, which is why it got its bastardized watered down definition of "I feel bad that you feel bad". But being able to actually place yourself in someone else's shoes, understand their point of view, how they arrived at it, why it seems right to them, what data led them to that conclusion, etc is a skill that I would wager less than 5% of humans actually have. Virtually everyone is only able to view the world through the lens of their own experience, even if they think they can do otherwise.
Men are better at literally everything on earth except for raising children from birth until about 4 years old. Even after that age, fathers are better than mothers at raising kids.
I think most people can sympathize, but its not an absolving feeling either. I can sympathize with the hard life a single mom is going through. This doesn't mean I approve of her actions nor believe that the blame isn't still squarely on her regardless. I'm certain almost anyone can manage that level of sympathy, as its basic human morality.
But that's what people want. They want your positive emotions, but without any judgement. Which is what "empathy" means to them. Its a woman explaining how she cheated but wants you to think of her as a victim anyway and tell her her reasonings as valid.
To be fair, a dirty little secret is that the vast majority of people don't have the ability to actually sympathize either, which is why it got its bastardized watered down definition of "I feel bad that you feel bad". But being able to actually place yourself in someone else's shoes, understand their point of view, how they arrived at it, why it seems right to them, what data led them to that conclusion, etc is a skill that I would wager less than 5% of humans actually have. Virtually everyone is only able to view the world through the lens of their own experience, even if they think they can do otherwise.
The dirtier secret is that men are better at empathy than women due to their solipsistic nature.
Men are better at literally everything on earth except for raising children from birth until about 4 years old. Even after that age, fathers are better than mothers at raising kids.
I think most people can sympathize, but its not an absolving feeling either. I can sympathize with the hard life a single mom is going through. This doesn't mean I approve of her actions nor believe that the blame isn't still squarely on her regardless. I'm certain almost anyone can manage that level of sympathy, as its basic human morality.
But that's what people want. They want your positive emotions, but without any judgement. Which is what "empathy" means to them. Its a woman explaining how she cheated but wants you to think of her as a victim anyway and tell her her reasonings as valid.
Its pure woman logic behind the word.