I’m not sure that recognizing someone’s suffering is the same as feeling that suffering. Empathy is feeling another person’s suffering as if it were your own. So, to hurt that person would be to hurt yourself.
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yesman@lemmy.world 1 week agoIt’s really hard to hurt another person when you feel their pain.
Consider the sadist. How can you enjoy someone’s suffering if you can’t recognize it?
The most wicked people are advanced empaths.
anonymouse2@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 1 week ago
I’m on the fence here. I won’t rule out your claim, as sadism could be a perversion of empathy.
But, I think they recognize and enjoy the suffering BECAUSE they lack empathy, and it’s the feeling of power over another that drives them.
The human mind is a messy place, especially when you start analyzing psychopaths.