Devon Price, a social psychologist with autism, reflects on what empathy means to him. “Empathy is overrated” is his conclusion. I didn’t think I would necessarily agree with this article at first glance, but the more I read the more I connected with what he was saying. There are two kinds of empathy, emotional and cognitive, but most people use and identify empathy as an emotional response. This is not as meaningful as the cognitive aspect of empathy. Reflecting on someone and their experience and trying to understand what they are going through can be a meaningful thing. However, some people are just too caught up in the emotional response they are having to make this genuine connection. Perspective taking is another practice both articles discussed. It is different from putting yourself in someone’s shoes, it is more of trying to understand the perspective of the person in the situation not you in the same situation. I think this can be a good tool to use and practice in decision-making. My biggest takeaway was that compassion is more valuable than empathy, and the world needs more of that. I at times have a hard time feeling what another person is feeling, but can evaluate the situation and act compasionatly. I would say that I am a compassionate person and I am not necessarily an empath, yet I still have a strong tie to human rights activism and changing the lives of people who need it. I guess I didn’t see a difference in compassion and empathy until I read this article, but I strongly agree. I think empathy is a sticky subject, Sarah Konrath dives into the eight different uses of empathy and that everyone views empathy differently. Empathy doesn’t lead to logical and fair decisions at times and empathy doesn’t always mean morally right.