empath
{{Short description|Concept in parapsychology}}
{{Distinguish|Empathy}}
{{About|a term in parapsychology for a medium|the comic book character|Empath (character)|other uses}}
{{Paranormal|para}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
Empath ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|m|p|æ|θ}}; {{etymology|grc|{{Wikt-lang|grc|ἐμπάθ}}(εια) ({{grc-transl|ἐμπάθ(εια)}})|passion}}) is a term for people who have a higher than usual level of empathy.
In parapsychology, the mechanism for being an empath is said to be psychic channeling; psychics and mediums say that they channel the emotional states and experiences of other living beings, or the spirits of dead people, in the form of "emotional resonance". Studies of such claims have found them to be the result of mundane empathy and charisma, with no actual supernatural capabilities involved.
Paranormal usage
The term's paranormal usage flows mostly from the work of American psychiatrist Judith Orloff. Orloff uses the term to describe people who have an innate ability to read the emotional state of others. She believes that empaths are able to sense the thoughts, feelings and energy of those around them, and that they are able to use this ability to provide healing or comfort to others, if they manage their condition correctly.{{Cite book |last=Orloff |first=Judith |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/953599191 |title=The empath's survival guide : life strategies for sensitive people |date=2017 |publisher=Sounds True |isbn=978-1-62203-657-8 |location=Boulder, Co. |oclc=953599191 |author-link=Judith Orloff}} Orloff's work is controversial, as she says that she is a clairvoyant (psychic);{{Cite episode |title=Psychic Medicine |last=Orloff |first=Judith |author-link1=Judith Orloff |last2=Toms |first2=Michael |url=https://programs.newdimensions.org/products/psychic-medicine-with-judith-orloff |date=1996-10-29 |series=New Dimensions Radio |number=2600 |language=en |quote=I had my first psychic experience when I was nine years old, when I had a visitation from my grandfather.}}{{Cite magazine |last1=Miller |first1=Kenneth |last2=Benson |first2=Harry |date=June 1998 |title=Psychics: Science or Seance? A Reporter Visits the Twilight Zone |volume=21 |magazine=Life |issue=7 |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=634706&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=2023-02-21 |via=EBSCOHost}} her definition and classification of types of empaths is neither recognized by mainstream psychiatry nor is it included in the DSM-5. For her part, Orloff believes her psychiatric colleagues to be "stuck in the Dark Ages".{{Cite journal |last=Mason |first=Russ |date=February 2005 |title=The Energy Psychiatry of Judith Orloff, M.D. |url=https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/act.2005.11.32 |journal=Alternative and Complementary Therapies |publisher=Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. |volume=2005 |issue=11 |pages=32–36 |doi=10.1089/act.2005.11.32 |quote=RM: Is allopathic medicine, particularly psychiatry, really stuck in the Dark Ages? JO: Yes.|url-access=subscription }}
Two studies focused on such claims of telepathy have found them to be the result of mundane empathy and charisma, not supernatural capabilities.{{Cite journal |last=Donovan |first=James M. |date=August 1998 |title=Reinterpreting Telepathy as Unusual Experiences of Empathy and Charisma |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2466/pms.1998.87.1.131 |journal=Perceptual and Motor Skills |volume=87 |issue=1 |pages=131–146 |doi=10.2466/pms.1998.87.1.131 |pmid=9760638 |s2cid=6173490 |issn=0031-5125}}
In popular culture
Paranormal Empaths have featured in various works of fiction, such as the Marvel Comics character Empath{{Cite web |last=Mysogland |first=Gregory |date=2020-10-26 |title=The X-Men's Greatest Monster Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight |url=https://www.cbr.com/hellions-empath-x-men-monster/ |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=CBR |language=en}} Forest Whitaker's character Dan Smithson in Species (film) (1995) and the Star Trek: The Next Generation character Deanna Troi.{{Cite book |last=Chin |first=Vivian Fumiko |title=Set Phasers to Teach! |editor-last=Rabitsch |editor-first=S. |location=Springer, Cham |pages=137–147 |chapter=To Seek Out New Forms of Knowledge: Viewing Star Trek as an Introduction to Cognitive Science and Ways of Thinking About Narrative, Theory of Mind, and Difference |year=2018 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-73776-8_13 |isbn=978-3-319-73775-1 |editor-last2=Gabriel |editor-first2=M. |editor-last3=Elmenreich |editor-first3=W. |editor-last4=Brown |editor-first4=J.}} The concept is further explored in Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 3, Episode 12, titled The Empath.{{Cite web |date=September 6, 2022 |title=Empaths Can Be Jerks Like Anyone Else |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/am-i-right/202209/empaths-can-be-jerks-like-anyone-else?amp |website=Psychology Today}}
See also
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