A Historical Definition of Empathy from the Perspective of Philosophy, Psychology & Neuroscience

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<div&gt;This book is unique because it promotes empathy as the foundation of all&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;therapeutic interactions and teaches how to be empathetic. The chosen methodology for&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;this book is Phenomenology. The key method for data collection are narratives and the&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;underlying theoretical premise for data analysis is the ethic of care. The important&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;association between the ethic of care and empathy is explained. The concept of&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;empathy is historically explored from a philosophical, psychological, and Social&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;Neuroscience perspective. Terms that are closely aligned with empathy, such as&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;benevolence and compassion, are carefully delineated. Positive Psychology is&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;introduced as a new and crucial focus that emphasizes positive emotions. It is pointed&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;out that whereas traditional empathy is primarily focused on the identification with&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;troubling feelings with the goal of helping people feel better, positive empathy is a&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;therapeutic response that emphasizes emotions like joy and contentment. Emotional&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;intelligence or the ability to read others' feelings is deemed necessary for empathy. The&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;intelligence quotient (IQ) and emotional quotient (EQ) are both essential for success. In&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;the Case in Point, subjective perceptions of empathy in practice are shared by different&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;helping professionals. A closing simulation exercise focuses on practicing active&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;listening, reflection and nonverbal cues, followed by mock scenarios on how to tell the&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;difference between sympathy and empathy.</div&gt;