NEOLENGUA. 'Empathy' was invented to ignore 'compassion'

"Empathy", as we understand it today, was born in the early 20th century, but its Greek root "empátheia" meant something very different from mutual understanding.

## from art to psychology

The word "empathy", such a worn-out concept nowadays, did not come out of nowhere. Its journey to becoming the ability to "put yourself in someone else's shoes" is more complex than it seems. The origin dates back to **Germany** in **1873**, when the philosopher **Robert Vischer** coined the term **"Einfühlung"**. At the time, it was mainly used in the fields of philosophy and aesthetics to describe how we project our own feelings when contemplating a work of art or nature, a kind of "feeling oneself into" the object.

## the translation that changed everything

It was in **1909** that the British psychologist **Edward Titchener** decided to translate that German term into English, giving life to **"empathy"**. Titchener used it to explain a process of physical imitation and psychological projection, seeking to define that sensation of experiencing another person's feelings. It is from this translation and its subsequent development in psychology that the concept began to take the shape we know now, moving away from its initial, more introspective and aesthetic use.

## a root with nuances

If we look at the etymology, the word "empathy" comes from the Greek word **"empátheia"**. However, in ancient Greece, authors such as **Aristotle** or **Galen** used this term with a very different meaning. Far from the positive, caring connotation we give it today, "empátheia" referred rather to "unbridled passion", "intense suffering" or even aversion. An abyss of a difference that shows how the meaning of words evolves and adapts to the social and cultural context of each era.