Sakshi Education
By Srirangam Sriram, Sriram's IAS, New Delhi.
Compassion is the ability to understand the emotional state of another person or oneself with a desire to alleviate or reduce the suffering. It is different from empathy which is the ability to put oneself in the other person's place and feel their suffering and emotional stress.
Compassion and empathy are associated with human sensitivity.
The etymology of "compassion" is Latin, meaning co-suffering. Compassion involves "feeling for another" and is associated with empathy.
Compassion involves allowing ourselves to be moved by suffering and experiencing the motivation to help alleviate and prevent it. An act of compassion is defined by its helpfulness.
Qualities of compassion are patience and wisdom; kindness and perseverance; warmth and resolve. It leads to altruism.
Sympathy (‘fellow feeling’, ‘community of feeling’) is a feeling of care and concern for someone, often someone close, accompanied by a wish to see him better off or happier.
However, sympathy does not involve a shared perspective or shared emotions, and while the facial expressions of sympathy do convey caring and concern, they do not convey shared distress.
Difference between sympathy and compassion is that the former responds to suffering from sorrow while the latter responds with warmth and care.
Compassion is considered in almost all the major religious traditions as among the greatest of virtues.
All the above are an essential value for those in charge of social development like public servants.
Compassion and empathy are associated with human sensitivity.
The etymology of "compassion" is Latin, meaning co-suffering. Compassion involves "feeling for another" and is associated with empathy.
Compassion involves allowing ourselves to be moved by suffering and experiencing the motivation to help alleviate and prevent it. An act of compassion is defined by its helpfulness.
Qualities of compassion are patience and wisdom; kindness and perseverance; warmth and resolve. It leads to altruism.
Sympathy (‘fellow feeling’, ‘community of feeling’) is a feeling of care and concern for someone, often someone close, accompanied by a wish to see him better off or happier.
However, sympathy does not involve a shared perspective or shared emotions, and while the facial expressions of sympathy do convey caring and concern, they do not convey shared distress.
Difference between sympathy and compassion is that the former responds to suffering from sorrow while the latter responds with warmth and care.
Compassion is considered in almost all the major religious traditions as among the greatest of virtues.
All the above are an essential value for those in charge of social development like public servants.Published date : 06 Jan 2021 12:33PM
