Empathy - An Indispensable Social Value

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Empathy is one of the most essential quality of human character. It is empathy that makes us see the world through the eyes of others or through the perspective of people arounnd us. Empathy makes us weep with others when they are sad and it also makes us laugh with others. Thus it goes without saying that empathy makes us social beings as it is this quality that helps us establish connection with society. In other words, empathy inculcates the spirit of philanthropy and fellow-feeling in human beings.

Man is indeed a social animal as his existence depends by and large upon how he interacts with the people around him and what he does to the welfare of the society of which he is an inseparable part. Man's life becomes meaningless if its link with society gets severed. That's why people who live in isolation suffer from negative emotions like anger, jealousy, hostility and stress. Thus it goes without saying man without society is nothing but an animal. A person who keeps himself engaged in society is always mentally healthy and happy.

Just imagine if you have to live all alone for one week without any other person around you, what will happen? You will go through the traumatic experience of being isolated and alienated from the rest of the world around you. There is no surprise if, at the end of the week, you may have to go to a psychiatrist to get your balance of mind restored. This is what happens when you keep yourself alienated from the people or society around you. You will fall a victim to stress that may eventually lead to mental disorders or depression.

Whereas on the other hand, however hard you may find it to deal with people around you, your interaction with people will instill social skills in you in the long run. If you have really difficult people around you to deal with, it will prove to be a blessing in disguise for you in the long run as not only will your dealings with different people train you in social skills, but it will also make you emotionally and mentally strong. 'Empathy' is an acquired social trait that gets sharpened over a long period of time as one happens to spend more and more time with people having different temperaments.

It is an incontestable truth that the tough situations of life make us tough human being having the nerves of steel. By virtue of our interaction with strangers, we gradually come in possession of the wherewithal to deal with all sorts of situations and circumstances.

Let us further elaborate it with the example of a school going adolescent who loves to spend time with his friends but can't do so due to the constraints imposed on him by his parents. Being a single child of his doting parents, he is forced to stay at home and is made to study forcibly after school hours. The life of such a child will be boring and monotonous as he won't get as much time to play or mix with the children of his age group as he should have and it would result not only in his stunted growth but it will also have a negative effect on his personality in the long run.

Such a child will not be able to evolve 'empathy' which will further render him less trained in social skills. It will further have a long-term effect on his personality. He may easily fall victim to negative emotions like anger, fear, anxiety, annoyance, apathy, etc. One who gets afflicted with these emotional issues has a much higher chances of suffering from mental disorders like stress and depression.

Here it is important to note that empathy is not an innate or inborn quality of character. It is something that is to be acquired over a long period of time and the more we socialize, the more we imbibe this positive social trait. Empathy makes one selfless as one tends to identity with the griefs, sorrows and happiness of others.

A child who lives all alone and doesn't have any other child around him to play with will be more possessive about his toys and playthings, whereas a child who plays with other children of his age group will have better social skills as he will learn to adapt himself by sharing, playing, weeping and laughing with his playmates. The latter child will grow-up to be a better human being and as his constant interaction with children has developed in him the qality of empathy in the form of fellow-feeling, brotherhood, team-spirit, etc., he will ultimately lead a far happier and better life than the one who has had an isolated childhood.

Thus to be able to empathize with others, we must spend as much time with our friends, relatives and family members as we can. The longer we are in the company of others, the more we will be able to understand others. It will further enable us to adapt to varied situations of life. Hence 'empathy' is one of the most basic quality of a human being vis-a-vis society. It helps us rise above from egoistic attitude, self-centeredness and selfishness. Empathy is an essential social value that makes us true humans as it helps us rise above our petty concerns and enables us to think about more important issues relating to the society we live in.