I think there's a lot of associated cultural baggage and expectations that come with our notions about empathy. This muddies the discussion, somewhat: people

I think there's a lot of associated cultural baggage and expectations that come with our notions about empathy. This muddies the discussion, somewhat: people seem to be conflating the idea of understanding what other people are feeling (and why they feel that way--which doesn't require feeling anything), feeling what other people are feeling (which doesn't necessarily require understanding), and a host of other ideas. (e.g. influencing how other people are feeling--which may require the first to some extent)