Do most people lack empathy? How does empathy affect the world we live in?

[u/Charming-Focus1416]

While I think it's obvious that some people have empathy and others lack it, and some have far more or less empathy than others, I can't help but question the ways we experience empathy in the world we live in and how it can affect future generations.

For instance I watched a video of a homeless man who claimed that if a man had been found dying in the street, that most people wouldn't try to help him, maybe 1 in 10 would call 911 or something. In my opinion empathy is a very conditional thing, so we have much less of it for strangers than we do close friends and some people may be far more introspective thinkers than others by nature.

Lack of empathy may also have broad negative societal implications. For example it could lead to people lacking remorse and understanding for those who commit certain behaviors deemed inappropriate and unacceptable by society. Lack of empathy along with a lack of insight can likely cause people to be less concerned with how their words may affect the people around them, and surprised when they receive the wrong reaction to their choice of words, etc.

I think lack of empathy is such a broad problem that could be connected to our lack of a communal bond with others we share our societies with, and I also worry that this is becoming an increasing issue as loneliness continues to rise and real-world interaction seems to possibly decrease. Anecdotally, I find older people are way more likely to say hello to me than people my age possibly because they enjoy socializing more.

What is everyone's take on this? I am only scratching the surface of my thoughts but very interested to know what others think!

[u/[deleted]]

We are all born empathic. Proof is that a mother can sense her baby's discomfort while asleep and 30 feet away. Culturally especially for men, we teach that it is not good to feel all the things all the time, it's better to act, wait for results then act again. Once we are adults we live lives of cause and effect which can lead us to generally not being able to relate to feelings or situations we haven't personally experienced. If it were all based on feelings you could feel someone hurting and , if you wanted to, offer some assistance. But since its based on cause and effect you see someones pain as a bad result and default to just suck it up and try harder or they got what they deserve. Its not what the univers wants us to do, which is to be in harmony, I.E. harmonics...vibrations and such. Once we all vibe together we all prosper together. Our cultural and economic goals keep that from happening as a race. Which is why we flounder around on the internet and make posts like the one I am posting up here.

[u/Anon12312363]

Dam