Empathy Essays Example

Empathy is the ability to understand what another person is experiencing by placing oneself in their position. It is different from sympathy as a person empathizing does offer condolences or pity from the outside but tries to experience the situation from the other person position. Leslie’s Jamison’s book, “The Empathy Exams’ opens with the title piece of the same name where she describes her experiences working as a medical actor. As a medical actor she gets paid to play the part of a patient who suffers from specific set of health problems so that medical students can diagnose and pinpoint what she’s suffering from. It is an exercise to better their diagnostic skills. Jamison plays her part of a medical actor to perfection but in the process she gets affected as she starts to actually internalize the problems of the fictitious characters. As a result she wonders if what she is feeling is genuine empathy or a ‘projection of self-pity’ onto someone else.
Through her title essay, Jamison explores the concept of empathy of how she can feel her way into another person’s pain and identify with their suffering. She explores the idea that empathy could be more about the person empathizing than about the person who is in pain. Although Jamison talks about her role as a medical actor, it is not only her feelings of empathy that she studies but that of the medical students too. She describes how the approach of each student is different. While some fail to understand that this is a playact and get too involved with the pseudo patient, others are subtle and actually empathize with her situation and that of the ‘patient’. “Other students seem to understand that empathy is always perched precariously between gift and invasion.” She talks about these medical students to bring out another facet of empathy. Jamison says empathy isn’t just ‘voiced empathy’, remembering to tell the patient that must have been hard. It is more than that. She says that empathy is trying to know as much about the patient without being intrusive, without presuming and bringing out the real difficulty so that it can be noticed by everyone involved. Jamison also says that “Empathy isn’t just listening; it’s asking the questions whose answers need to be listened to.” A person talking about their pain would only talk about the specifics and not mention about their past which could have played a part in their present malady. Thus Jamison says that an important part of empathizing is to know what and when to ask questions that would make different connections and let you understand the complete picture. When the author plays the role of a seizure victim, she completely empathizes with her. Through the empathizing process she figures out that the refusal of eye contact of the patient and lack of direct articulation is a result of possession and privacy. She realizes that the patient does not want anyone to know the real reasons. By empathizing with the patient, the author could play the part to perfection and not break the rules by talking. The author knows she cannot talk it out and she remains mute during the examination. Jamison seamlessly brings together her role play and her real emotions into her essays. Although she is writing about the patient her description of their pain is acute. There is so much clarity in her description that her willingness to believe in their suffering and trying to suffer the same way comes out brilliantly.
Jamison plays her part to perfection but wonders if it isn’t just solipsism? Jamison raises some important question about empathy; if it is a genuine care for others or if it is a selfish desire to turn this into an ‘opportunity to indulge pet fears of one’s own devising.’