09.24.08
Apathy vs Empathy
Apathy pronounced ap.e.thy
indifference; listless condition; lack of interest or emotion
Empathy pronounced em.pe.thy
the projection of one’s own personality into the personality of another in order to understand him better; intellectual identification of oneself with another
This morning on Fox cable, one of the guests used the word apathy instead of empathy in reference to trying to understand those who got mortgages that they could in no way afford. The hosts sort of cringed, but didn’t say anything about the mistake. We definitely shouldn’t have apathy toward our country’s financial difficulties, and I’m not sure we should have empathy either for those who caused it, especially when we have tried so hard to live within our means for so many years. If someone suddenly lost a job or became ill and could no longer pay, that would be deserving of empathy. We often drive through a neighborhood and wonder how the people could afford those half-million-dollar houses. Now we know.
