Analytic Empathy

In his book The Laws of Human Nature, Robert Greene discusses the laws and strategies of understanding ourselves and others. An interesting concept is analytic empathy; Greene states that:

"Analytic empathy comes mostly through conversation and gathering information that will allow you to get inside the spirit of others...Your goal in general is to find out what makes them unique." (52-53)

Regardless of who we are dealing with; spouses, bosses, children, coworkers, etc. it is of supreme importance that we understand what makes them tick. Obtaining a better understanding of others and what makes them different allows us to build strategies on how best to work together.

Analytic empathy may be the best strategy for dealing with people who rub us the wrong way or those we can't identify with. We can see it as a challenge to build our empathic skills. Not only will we understand them better, we learn more about ourselves and why we allow people to get under our skin.

Practicing analytic empathy reduces the emotional pull others have on us.

"I don't like that man. I must get to know him better" -Abraham Lincoln

References

Greene, Robert. 2019. The Laws of Human Nature. Penguin USA.