Review article
https://doi.org/10.26362/20250106
Empathy, Sympathy, and Compassion: Navigating the Landscape of Emotional Resonance
Pia Valenzuela
orcid.org/0000-0003-0056-4749
; Facoltà di Filosofia, Pontificia Università della Santa Croce
Abstract
Positive social interactions are crucial for our well-being. According to Fredrickson, the key to these interactions is positivity resonance, a form of positive emotional resonance that requires shared positive emotions, mutual care, and psychophysical synchrony. To achieve this, we must recognise emotions and have a fundamental ability to perceive others. Arnold’s research delves deeper into emotional reverberation, suggesting that emotional contagion arises merely from shared emotions. Empathy, sympathy, and compassion, instead, are all forms of emotional resonance that require a dynamic understanding of others’ emotions. As humans, we can interpret both our own and others’ emotional experiences, although there is some confusion between empathy and sympathy. While the two concepts may seem similar, psychologists and phenomenologists aim to clarify their essential differences. Sympathy is a positive emotion that highlights our affective consciousness and capacity for social cognition. This article argues that positive emotional resonance (Fredrickson’s notion of love) is sympathy’s psychophysiological scaffolding or counterpart. It also argues the ethical dimension of sympathy and compassion since we can foster them through moral decisions and habituation. Ultimately, it highlights the impact of sharing positive emotions on interpersonal interactions.
Keywords
Barbara Fredrickson; compassion; emotional resonance; empathy; Magda Arnold; positive emotion; sympathy
Hrčak ID:
331686
URI
Publication date:
4.6.2025.
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