ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to provide an inclusive account of empathy, namely one that covers most of the things that people mean by the term. The power of empathy has captured the public imagination. Although rather extravagant claims are sometimes made about it, empathy clearly plays a pivotal social role. Philosophers and psychologists enjoy bemoaning the many different uses of the term ‘empathy.’ Many misunderstandings proliferate about empathy, and they often divide along political lines. Conservatives are more likely to be mistrustful of empathy, which they regard as being in potential conflict with justice, and liberals tend to think it is the bedrock of morality. Empathy is essentially about the other but in a way that is closely entangled with the personal.
