Sympathy and Empathy ESL Discussion Questions

Sympathy and Empathy

Do you care? Does suffering of strangers make you sad. Or do you forget about it? Are we responsible for others? Is everyone our brother or sister?

Does anyone know what Sympathy or Empathy is? (*Chances are, they won’t, so explain the words best you can.*)

Sympathy and Empathy are both feelings.

With sympathy you feel for the person. You feel sorry or pity for the person.You can imagine their suffering. I imagine your pain.

Empathy is sharing a feeling with someone. I feel your pain.

(*We sympathize with people whose troubles are different from ours; we empathize with people in the same boat. "I feel your pain" is empathy, but "I can imagine your pain" is sympathy.*)

Which is the more noble and difficult feeling to have? Why? (*Sympathy is the nobler emotion because demands not only thoughtful reflection but a certain amount of serious reading. Some say sympathy is the more noble feeling because it requires actually experiencing the pain.*) Also: Who cares more? The person of sympathy or the person of empathy?

Verbs: sympathize empathize.

If we are all starving do we feel empathy or sympathy for each other?

When you see a poor person, do you feel sympathy or empathy?

If your friend’s parent dies. Do you feel sympathy or empathy? (*If this hasn’t happened to you, you feel sympathy. If it has happened to you, you feel empathy.*)

If you are suffering, what you do want from the other person: sympathy or empathy?

Does feeling sympathy mean being easy on a person or hard on a person? e.g. A student is sad about his poor marks.

Which is the more modern feeling? Empathy or Sympathy?

Do people in China feel much sympathy for each other?

Have you ever said “how are you?” to someone and not really cared?

How can we show we care for others? How can we show we care for them when they are suffering?

Do you remember a time when you felt you were misunderstood?

Do some people love to think of themselves as victims? (*Define victim*)

When you feel pain? Do you want understanding or do you want the pain to go away?

(*Jugdmentalism: bring this issue in.*)

Define Judge: Decide a person is good or bad (Guilty or Innocent)

Is it okay to judge others? (To be judgmental)

So if someone has trouble, would you tell them it is their fault. e.g. You got bad marks because you were lazy.

Can the sympathetic person judge?