Can Empathy Fuel Aggression ?
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
Browsing the news this morning I came across "The 10 Most Empathetic Nations In The World"
"Abstract from published paper"
"Cultural practices socialize people to relate to others in different ways. One critical way in which these interpersonal bonds are formed and maintained is via empathy, our emotional reactivity toward others’ experiences. However, the extent to which individuals from different cultures vary in their dispositional empathy, and the correlates of these differences, are relatively unknown. Thus, the current study explored cultural variation in empathy, and how this variation is related to psychological characteristics and prosocial behavior across cultures. Evidence from an original sample of 104,365 adults across 63 countries reveals that higher empathy countries also have higher levels of collectivism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, self-esteem, emotionality, subjective well-being, and prosocial behavior. These findings reveal that empathy is situated within a broader nomological network of other psychological characteristics, emotional expression and experiences, and prosocial behavior across cultures. The current study expands our understanding about how psychological characteristics vary across cultures and how these characteristics can manifest in broader national indicators of prosocial behavior."
(From article in link)
"The researchers analyzed the data from an online survey on empathy completed by more than 104,000 people from around the world. The survey measured people’s compassion for others and their tendency to imagine others’ point of view."
"An effort to rank 63 nations by empathy gives the top spot to Ecuador—followed in order by Saudi Arabia, Peru, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Korea, the United States, Taiwan, Costa Rica, and Kuwait.
The least empathetic country was Lithuania. In fact, seven of the 10 least empathetic countries were in Eastern Europe."
There was another link in the article "How Empathy Can Make Us Lash Out"
Abstract from published paper
"Can empathy for others motivate aggression on their behalf? This research examined potential predictors of empathy-linked aggression including the emotional state of empathy, an empathy target’s distress state, and the function of the social anxiety-modulating neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin. In Study 1 (N = 69), self-reported empathy combined with threat to a close other and individual differences in genes for the vasopressin receptor (AVPR1a rs3) and oxytocin receptor (OXTR rs53576) to predict self-reported aggression against a person who threatened a close other. In Study 2 (N = 162), induced empathy for a person combined with OXTR variation or with that person’s distress and AVPR1a variation led to increased amount of hot sauce assigned to that person’s competitor. Empathy uniquely predicts aggression and may do so by way of aspects of the human caregiving system in the form of oxytocin and vasopressin."
(From article in link)
"In situations where we care about someone very much, as humans, we were motivated to benefit them, but if there is someone else in the way, we may do things to harm that third party."
Having empathy for one party (so it would seem) can make one inflict suffering upon the other party...In order to alleviate the "suffering" of one, we might choose to inflict "suffering" upon the other...and so the cycle of suffering continues.....Go figure 
In some situations do you think empathy might fuel [one's] aggressive nature ? (ie, a desire to inflict harm upon another)
The thought does crossed my mind at times, but it doesn't last long 'thank Buddha' ......
Human Nature....Don't you just love it
Comments
Sometimes, @Shoshin you remind me of a therapist or a teacher. One who asks questions but never provides their thoughts. I appreciate your questions but it would be nice to know what you think alongside your always asking what everyone else thinks.
Politics. People feel so strongly about their ideologies that they believe inflicting harm on the other side will bring them what they want on theirs. Sadly, even those who truly seek to do the most care for others, do this. You never get anyone to see your point if you are always punching them in the face with it.
Parenting. We want so badly for our kids to have good lives that we think we know what the means for them. We insist that they do things a certain way because we know better without much care for how they might see or experience the world. We control their lives from the minute they are born, making so many decisions on their behalf without their input (in some cases of course this cannot be helped) and sometimes we are so foreceful about our way of doing something that we know we are causing them distress but we are so sure we are right that we just pull the parent card of "because I said so, that's why!" Parents do much harm to their kids, intentionally or not. Some of this can't be avoided but a lot of it can if parents can let go of their ego. Sometimes, I think the ego of parenting is one of the worst ones out there.
It's easy to take things to the extreme, be it actions or thoughts. When I read this, I thought of 'but what about' the nature of humans and other mammals etc. to provide protection to those like us and those not like us? I think that's a very important aspect of the whole topic of empathy.
"Having empathy for one party (so it would seem) can make one inflict suffering upon the other party...In order to alleviate the "suffering" of one, we might choose to inflict "suffering" upon the other...and so the cycle of suffering continues."
It's unavoidable in life to sometimes protect by acting assertively to the point of causing physical harm, not to mention mental/emotional harm. We naturally set our priorities as best we can. Sometimes we even get it right - if there is such a thing.
Yes.
It is why we try to engage compassion rather than empathy based on our 'wisdom' of how to improve the situation. @silver mentions the complications of making choices based around our limitations.
We transcend our limitations by equinimity and calm objectivity - ideally ...
There also is, as always, the difference in perception. Just because the other party might perceive harm, doesn't always mean harm was intended, or that harm was even a result. Some people perceive things a little closer to reality and some are way off. They feel things so strongly that the strong emotion is more than what they've truly experience and they apply a crazier story over the truth to match the strength of their emotion. I have a child who does this, and it's very difficult to deal with. It doesn't matter how benign something I might say or do happens to be, but he will perceive harm from it even if 99% of people would not. We can only do so much about how others perceive situations, though.
Selective empathy is like shallow compassion.
Not the real deal.
True, if one can 'feel' for all parties involved, one truly understands the situation, that is, Dukkha is at play, all are suffering and it is this suffering which is fuelling more suffering
If we are not careful/mindful, the empathy that could arise when confronted with a situation, (ie, something that we might perceive as unjust ), could be spotlight empathy ( narrowly focusing upon one party) as opposed to floodlight empathy (seeing the whole picture)...feeling for all involved...
In the OP I mentioned the following ( in response to @karasti enquiry)
Yes...
In other words when I'm confronted with a situation, for example the atrocities in Aleppo , my first mental reaction might be empathy ( spotlight feeling on those being bombed) quickly backed up by "I wish somebody would bomb the shit out of um!" ("um" being the Syrian government forces and their Russian backer) "aggression" fuelled by empathy..., but then just as quick, the floodlight is turned on and I begin to see the whole picture. feel for all parties involved...."Thank Buddha"
No!
Human nature is as you say to focus on personally motivating aspects. The bigger picture is not something we can ever fully understand - that is part of our human nature ...
We can as I feel you are implying engage in a more comprehensive and balanced understanding.
I've heard this before lobster; in fact, I've heard you say it before. Funny how one time it hits and other times it passes me right on by.
As I read Shoshin's original post, something struck me that I am working on at the moment. Please forgive the tangent, but I'd really like to share this with you folks. I'm kind of at a loss to find someone else. As I've shared before, I have DID. There's me, the fellow who posts here, and there's a six year old girl (who just insisted I remove the period at the end of 'girl' and add this), named Sonseearae. While it wasn't always like this, we share an empathy that I suspect identical twins would envy. As in just about every system like mine, there is a protector - the system was created because there wasn't one. That would be me.
I love Sonseearae and when she feels threatened, I feel it and get threatening. When she feels that she is in danger, I feel it and I become extraordinarily dangerous. I said up above that I am working on this currently. I am, both alone and with a trauma therapist. And while doing the trauma work, I've discovered something. Because the danger is gone, I've found that I have a deep fear that I am no longer necessary and have no purpose. That feeling has been kicking my butt.
She doesn't need the protection any longer that empathy provided. But she still needs compassion. I can do that! That can be my purpose.
Really not sure that's going to make any sense to anyone but me so let me translate. This thread helped me. A lot. Thank you.
The name is thought to be Apache, but there are no documents, archives or writings that confirm this. Originally thought to mean 'Morning Star', this too is now etymologically questionable....
I would add, that in my view this lends support, clarity and fundamental justification for her existence in your life...
Extraordinary post @yagr.
It contains a wealth or hub of important personal insights. Once we find compassion for our selves and others, we can be sure we are very near to potential interior well being.
Our role in life is to resonate with metta. To allow its overwhelming protection, resonance with our real nature and qualities.
Here iz plan, homework, life task, purpose etc: 'increase in love'
Wonderful, @yagr. Thank you for sharing. I know this is not the same as what you are working with, but have you ever read the book "Running from Safety" by Richard Bach? It is a fictional story about a middle aged man who connects with his inner child. (I realize that is not what you are speaking about, of course). Your story just reminded me of that story, the way he interacted and talked with the boy within him who needed to be remembered and needed his compassion.
That was fun to read, thank you! The Navajo and Apache languages are part of the Athabaskan language group and are very similar. Actually, Apache is broken down into two separate languages: Eastern Apache and, you guessed it, Western Apache. But really if you know one you can get by in the others reasonably well. In Navajo, Sonseearae means 'bright morning star', so it is very close to the Apache.
I have read everything Richard Bach has ever written. In fact, I sent him a note telling him that Jonathon Livingston Seagull (that I read when I was six) changed my life. He wrote back.
I think it might serve me well to give it another read though. Context has changed.
Yes, be empathetic but not too much. Is empathy different from compassion? I don't think so.
Compassion needs to be balanced with equanimity.
That's the Middle Way.
Just as only using one’s cognitive problem-solving skills would not necessarily lead to the best outcomes for patients, only employing one’s empathic and emotional skills doesn’t lead to the best outcomes, either. Empathy is not an inherent good in medical care, but a relative one. As with deliberative reflection and abstraction, empathy is also useful only in certain degrees and in certain contexts, but can be unproductive or destructive in others.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/doctors-and-dehumanization-effect/
No, of course not. That's silly.
Why?
Can Empathy fuel Aggression?
If the seeds of Aggression are strong in you, I guess anything can be the perfect excuse to trigger those babes, @Shoshin ...