Being empathic is a complex, demanding, strong yet subtle and gentle way of being.
Carl Rogers (1902-1987), psychologist and one of the
founders of the humanistic approach to psychology.
He was very influential in the study of empathy.
“Many times you’ll hear that empathy is weak or kind of wimpy. Rogers makes the case that empathy is about being strong. If you want to be empathic, I would say it’s actually the opposite of weak. When people are fighting with each other and not listening to each other that’s the weak approach. To be able to be so grounded that you can listen and hear what the other person has to say takes a lot of inner strength.”
Edwin Rutsch founding director of
The Center for Building a Culture of Empathy
