Blog Post 3

The topic from todays discussion that stuck with me the most was the debate whether empathy was innate or learned. I personally believe that empathy is something learned and uncovered from a hidden area of your subconcious, but not in the sense someone teaches you what empathy is and how to feel it. I think it is self taught through experiences. When I feel pain I now realize that is uncomfortable. The more I understand pain, the more I learn about that area of empathy. This continues to a point where you realize what causes others pain, and having experienced pain and disliked it I know feel empathetic towards the person feeling pain, as I know that it sucks, and no one likes it. When I see someone in pain it reminds myself of pain and I dont want that, and seeing them in the situation I have come to dislike makes me think they feel the same, and therefore I feel bad. However, this then means that the idea, but solely the rooting idea, of empathy is therefore innate, but not knowing how to feel it or portray it. However it isn't fully innate we have to learn other things to unlock that feeling of empathy. I think empathy stems from something selfish. We see someone in a situation and say I would hate that, that would be unappealing, and therefore we infer other people feel the same as us. We feel bad for them, just because we don't want that happening to ourself.