Hmm, if you think that someone is exactly like you or very very similar to you, you won't be able to have any/much empathy for them. If they don't react in a way you understand, you wouldn't be able to comprehend why things might be different for them.
In that sense, the idea that autistics have no empathy could be viewed as correct. They can only commiserate with, recognize, and understand themselves.
Oddly, perhaps, the ability to recognize "Not like me" is probably very important to having empathy for others. Though, on the same track, having overlapping similarities/understanding also seems to be necessary for sympathy.
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krja
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-21 11:27 pm (UTC)In that sense, the idea that autistics have no empathy could be viewed as correct. They can only commiserate with, recognize, and understand themselves.
Oddly, perhaps, the ability to recognize "Not like me" is probably very important to having empathy for others. Though, on the same track, having overlapping similarities/understanding also seems to be necessary for sympathy.