radical empathy

I like the term radical empathy as Isabel Willkerson uses it. She says:

“Empathy is commonly viewed as putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and imagining how you would feel. To me that’s a start, but that’s not true empathy. That’s role playing.” 

 

“Radical empathy on the other hand, means putting in the work to learn and to listen with a heart wide open, to understand another’s experience well enough to know how they are feeling it, not as we imagine we would feel."

 

"Radical empathy is not about you and what you think you would do in a situation you have never been in and perhaps never will."

 

Her talk got an unexpected standing ovation. Here's the link: https://vimeo.com/272109425