Are you capable of empathy?

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This has been an issue of contention. Many neurotypicals assert that we are devoid of empathy, and a number of Aspergians rebuttal this by describing moments when they have experienced it.

One woman has a blog wherein she explains that a person's emotions must be blatant, and the Aspergian must make a conscious effort, to level with the other person's emotions to experience empathy; the level of empathy is then intense. This describes me rather well.

I am to empathise with situation...If I was talking to someone who was pregnant or gay, I can imagine being pregnant or gay, I can imagine how I would feel. But I can't empathise with feelings...like, I don't know what other people are thinking or how they feel at all.

Does that make any sense? I don't know, I think I'm just rambling.

I mostly cannot empathise. There are occasions I can. It varies a lot in autism/AS.

This issue is far more complex than a yes/no answer. It also depends on your definition of empathy. I posted a poll last week that accounts for a bit more variation and formally defines empathy (for the purposes of the poll at least). You may want to go take a look at that one and vote.

You are either capable of it or not. You are finding complexity where there is none.

http://thefreedictionary.com/empathy

Nope, not in the least.

It's an autistic stereotype with good reason.

Gee, I feel like a dumbass being the only vote to no.

My empathy is very limited and I only have it with certain types of people to varying degrees. (Such as a empathize with other Aspies & Auties sometimes and mentally ill people). This is rare though (but when it does happen it is a shock to my system b/c it is so rare) . But otherwise I would have to say no.

I can emulate it atleast if that counts.

Your world is really black and white, isn't it?

Hi Peko, that's an interesting answer, for it seems to me that many NTs' empathy is limited as well, or should I say selective.
It's not uncommon, from what I have read here on WP and experienced myself, that NTs have empathy with people that are like themselves; hence many of us can say, we have not met few NTs that apparently didn't understand us, or could not put themselves in our shoes - or couldn't understand why we didn't think / feel etc. like this or that, when they themselves did? (so much for both empathy and Theory of Mind).

But it's strange that NT kids who bully "different" kids (eg. with AS) aren't said to have limited / selective empathy...

Incorrect. Yet existence does have its absolutes.

For someone with a Spock avatar and a Linklater reference as nickname I would've expected a bit more to be honest..

Meow!! This is what I call an AS catfight!

Expound.

Last edited by A_Spock_Darkly on 02 Jun 2009, 2:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I've never met a person I could understand. With decades of experience, I can make an educated guess about what somebody else might be feeling in a particular situation, but I can't empathise.

Ah...sorry...was thinking out loud...