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I'm with you on this SD. Empathy is feeling the emotion of another because you have had a like experience. Sympathy is feeling compassion for another because you care about their pain. I can empathize with someone who has lost a son because I have lost a son. I sympathize with someone who has lost their spouse because I realize it is painful for them, but I can't empathize with them because I have not yet lost my spouse. I do not know how that would feel. I can imagine, but I can't know.

Thanks for the support. On November 4th my father was killed in a motorcycle accident. I can now know what others feel when they experience this kind of loss. I cannot know your pain at losing a son as I have not experienced that. I sympathize with you, and pray that the Lord eases your pain. But without having lost a child, I don't know the depth of that pain. The people of Iraq experienced suffering that most of us in the U.S. have not or never will experience (God willing). I have sympathy for their suffering, but I do not ever want the ability to empathize with them.

Again, thanks for the support.

Empathy is feeling the emotion of another because you have had a like experience....I can empathize with someone who has lost a son because I have lost a son. I sympathize with someone who has lost their spouse because I realize it is painful for them, but I can't empathize with them because I have not yet lost my spouse.

Oh come on.

There will alway be some differences. No two circumstances are the same. A son dying vs. a spouse dying. Person A vs. person B.

However both cases involve a depth of emotional pain that is severe.

A person can have empathy for another who has suffered a similar depth of emotional pain.

A person can have empathy for somebody who lost a loved one to Saddam drawing on various tragedies that they have suffered in their lifetime.

Sympathy is feeling compassion for another because you care about their pain. I can empathize with someone who has lost a son because I have lost a son. I sympathize with someone who has lost their spouse because I realize it is painful for them, but I can't empathize with them because I have not yet lost my spouse.

Closer. I do believe one can empathize even without direct experience, but it does require putting onesself in that position, vicariously.

My guess is that's why the "Webster's Unabridged" being cited by Free Reign says "see sympathy" not just "sympathy"... the latter would indicate that they are synonyms. With "see" in there, it means that they are similar words, but you go to "sympathy" entry to see how they differ--that's how most Webster's work.

The Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)--based on what used to be called "Webster's" (the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006), does that. It says "see Sympathy"...and under Sympathy, it has the following (to which I added boldface/italics):

Synonyms 1. concord, understanding, rapport, affinity.Sympathy, compassion, pity, empathy all denote the tendency, practice, or capacity to share in the feelings of others, especially their distress, sorrow, or unfulfilled desires. Sympathy is the broadest of these terms, signifying a general kinship with another's feelings, no matter of what kind: in sympathy with her yearning for peace and freedom; to extend sympathy to the bereaved. Compassion implies a deep sympathy for the sorrows or troubles of another coupled to a powerful urge to alleviate the pain or distress or to remove its source: to show compassion for homeless refugees. Pity usually suggests a kindly, but sometimes condescending, sorrow aroused by the suffering or ill fortune of others, often leading to a show of mercy: tears of pity for war casualties; to have pity on a thief driven by hunger. Empathy most often refers to a vicarious participation in the emotions, ideas, or opinions of others, the ability to imagine oneself in the condition or predicament of another: empathy with those striving to improve their lives; to feel empathy with Hamlet as one watches the play.

Note that there's no "see" on the synonyms here. The "see" just said that there's an explanation at "Sympathy"...not that they are actually synonyms. In any case, I just comment because of my interest in language and lexography.