# How is empathy advantageous? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 10, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588 "2016-09-10T23:34:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KimJongUn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/87869e/32.png) [@KimJongUn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KimJongUn)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/1 "2016-09-10T23:34:57Z")
As someone diagnosed with ASPD and somewhat interested in the disorder, I sometimes wonder how empathy is advantageous to a human being, mainly because of the fact that empathy can bog you down with such things as the suffering of others, which does not affect you. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/2 "2016-09-10T23:38:55Z")
All humans have weaknesses, empathy endeavours support from others. Sleep on an inner city bus stop bench for one night and you’ll understand. ---
**Author:** ![KimJongUn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/87869e/32.png) [@KimJongUn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KimJongUn)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/3 "2016-09-10T23:42:45Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > All humans have weaknesses, empathy endeavours support from others. > > Sleep on an inner city bus stop bench for one night and you’ll understand. Sure, it benefits me that others are empathetic, but say I’m the thief, rapist or murderer in your scenario. In that case, I’m helped by my lack of empathy. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/4 "2016-09-10T23:44:54Z")
Empathy is needed for society to work. Criminals actively work against the interests of society. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/5 "2016-09-10T23:45:28Z")
Empathy is a glue for a strong and healthy social network/community. Because each one of us can get appendicitis, suffer a broken bone, lose a job, get cancer, have a family member die, etc., just as much as any other person. And also if you have been known to be empathetic, then others will be more likely to be empathetic to you too when you are the sufferer yourself. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/6 "2016-09-10T23:46:52Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > As someone diagnosed with ASPD and somewhat interested in the disorder, I sometimes wonder how empathy is advantageous to a human being, mainly because of the fact that empathy can bog you down with such things as the suffering of others, which does not affect you. My empathy primarily kicks in for other people who have empathy, and so we help each other out – and if somebody ever makes obvious that he’s not really up for the whole help-each-other-out thing, then folks like us (a) react accordingly to him, even while we (b) keep going in for cooperative teamwork with one another – pulling together as a community, meaning it when we say stuff like _thanks, I owe you one_, and so on. And as soon as we find a thief or a killer in our midst, we, like, form a posse. ---
**Author:** ![KimJongUn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/87869e/32.png) [@KimJongUn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KimJongUn)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/7 "2016-09-10T23:48:11Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Empathy is needed for society to work. Criminals actively work against the interests of society. That’s the thing though. What do I care about society if I’m able to get richer or gain personal enjoyment from breaking its laws? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/8 "2016-09-10T23:51:39Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > Sure, it benefits me that others are empathetic, but say I’m the thief, rapist or murderer in your scenario. In that case, I’m helped by my lack of empathy. Human society requires empathy to exist - bonding with others is intrinsic to being social animals and empathy is intrinsic to bonding. Conversely human society does not require _every individual_ be empathetic - just a critical mass of them. A certain titer of sociopathic criminals can exist in a society without it disintegrating. So, no - _you_ don’t have to be empathetic ( though it will surely make your life harder if you aren’t ). But a substantial number of your neighbors need to be or everything falls apart. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/9 "2016-09-10T23:54:54Z")
You get to feel all warm and fuzzy about yourself. I’m told it’s quite a buzz. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/10 "2016-09-10T23:55:50Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > That’s the thing though. What do I care about society if I’m able to get richer or gain personal enjoyment from breaking its laws? Individually, it doesn’t matter. However, if enough people had this mindset, society would cease to function properly. And even if you get rich from breaking society’s laws, you still reap all the benefits of a properly functioning society. If you got hurt, you’d still expect an ambulance to come and take you to the hospital. You’d still expect to be treated by doctors and other health care professionals. So even though you take no personal responsibility for doing your part, you still take advantage of everyone else who is. If society ceased to function, so would your current ability to pilfer it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/11 "2016-09-10T23:58:49Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > That’s the thing though. What do I care about society if I’m able to get richer or gain personal enjoyment from breaking its laws? That’s the thing, though: my empathy for a criminal’s victims is why I’d testify against him at his trial – and it’s why I’d call the police with information so he can be brought to trial in the first place, and why I’d _directly_ come to the aid of an innocent who was under attack if there’s no time for that; it’s why I casually speak of “acting in self-defense” in the same breath as “or in defense of others”. If I find somebody who’s a threat to me, _or to innocents other than me,_ I bring him to the attention of people who think the way I do; there’s a pretty big number of us, and we make a pretty good team, and we call ourselves “society”. ---
**Author:** ![KimJongUn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/87869e/32.png) [@KimJongUn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KimJongUn)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/12 "2016-09-11T00:00:59Z")
Most of the answers in this thread point to society needing empathetic majorities, but why are the majorities empathetic? How does one innocent’s suffering affect you? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/13 "2016-09-11T00:01:47Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > That’s the thing though. What do I care about society if I’m able to get richer or gain personal enjoyment from breaking its laws? Well, some people do have that mentality. They’re psychopaths or sociopaths. And they are fortunately in the minority, because if there were to be too many of them, society would break down. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/14 "2016-09-11T00:06:32Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > Most of the answers in this thread point to society needing empathetic majorities, but why are the majorities empathetic? Evolution. It is not necessarily an entirely conscious/rational decision. Just a tendency, reinforced by society/upbringing. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/15 "2016-09-11T00:07:45Z")
[This column](https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/out-the-darkness/201509/understanding-empathy) distinguishes between two kinds of empathy, which the columnist calls “shallow empathy” and “deep empathy.” “Shallow empathy” is the ability to see things from another person’s perspective and understand what they’re feeling. This cognitive ability to understand other people can confer significant advantages in various professional and social settings. “Deep empathy” involves actively feeling what another person is feeling. This one’s sort of a mixed blessing. It can get in the way and, as the OP says, “bog you down with such things as the suffering of others.” But it can also make your emotional life far richer, as you share in the positive and negative emotions of the people you care about. ---
**Author:** ![KimJongUn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/87869e/32.png) [@KimJongUn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KimJongUn)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/16 "2016-09-11T00:07:58Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Evolution. It is not necessarily an entirely conscious/rational decision. Just a tendency, reinforced by society/upbringing. What about ASPD? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/17 "2016-09-11T00:08:30Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > As someone diagnosed with ASPD and somewhat interested in the disorder, I sometimes wonder how empathy is advantageous to a human being, mainly because of the fact that empathy can bog you down with such things as the suffering of others, which does not affect you. Empathy is the understanding of another person’s frame of reference and feelings. In addition to the societal benefits pointed out elsewhere in this thread, having a sense of empathy benefits you because someone’s feelings, mental state, and frame of reference affects their actions, and better understanding that helps you predict the other person’s actions and fit them into context. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/18 "2016-09-11T00:11:51Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > Most of the answers in this thread point to society needing empathetic majorities, but why are the majorities empathetic? Doesn’t the first part answer the second? If a society emerged where most people couldn’t be counted on to fulfill their end of a bargain, and were eager to murder one another at the drop of a hat, then how long would that society endure? If another society consisted of people who value teamwork and don’t go in for killing innocents, then how long would _that_ society endure? > [@](#): > > How does one innocent’s suffering affect you? Um. Less than my own, but significantly similar? I guess you could say I reflexively imagine myself in that same condition – and while that experience is never as strong as actually _being_ in that condition, I still react accordingly upon sympathizing with their plight? Something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/19 "2016-09-11T00:16:08Z")
> [@KimJongUn](#): > > What about ASPD? ASPD is an aberration. Whether it loosely adaptive in some way or not for some small percentage of the population, it certainly would not be for a _large_ percentage of the population. ---
**Author:** ![KimJongUn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/87869e/32.png) [@KimJongUn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KimJongUn)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588/20 "2016-09-11T00:19:22Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > how long would _that_ society endure? But is society really necessary? There are obvious advantages, but what if we lived in an entirely free world, wherein survival of the fittest was the law? > [@](#): > > I still react accordingly upon sympathizing with their plight? Something like that. This to me is odd, because I can’t recall an occasion where I empathised with someone or ‘felt their pain,’ so to speak. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-empathy-advantageous/765588.md?page=2)