Empathy
Empathy is an emotion believed to be very important in the life of the human species. When we see another human or animal experiencing something positive or negative, we instinctively identify with the other. If the other is in pain we feel bad, and if the other is experiencing joy, we feel glad for them.Empathy is a reflex emotion that has to be learned at a young age. Not all humans have empathy: the lacking of all forms of empathy is called psychopathy (see also antisocial personality disorder). Autism and Asperger's syndrome are often falsely associated with empathy disorders, due to developmental differences in the ways emotions are experienced and expressed.
Closely related concepts are compassion and sympathy, but in difference from sympathy, empathy does not involve abstract reasoning.
It has been speculated that empathy may lie behind the prevalence of the Golden rule, and by extension that it may be an essential part of the cause of moral and social behaviour in human and non-human animals.
The empathy reflex is exploited to a certain extent in all kinds of fiction, thus we may identify deeply with characters appearing in a text or on a screen. It is also possible to identify with a person of the other sex or an animal. Empathy is thought to be a driving psychological force behind the animal rights movement.
Some students of animal behaviour claim that empathy is not restricted to humans as the definition implies. Examples include dolphins saving humans from drowning or from shark attacks, and a multitude of behaviours observed in primates, both in captivity and in the wild. See, for instance, the popular book The Ape and the Sushi Master by Frans de Waal.
In science fiction, empathy (and the corresponding noun empath) is used to signify a paranormal or psychic ability to sense the emotions of others, as opposed to telepathy, which allows one to perceive thoughts as well.