Talk:Empath

A fact from Empath appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 7 March 2023 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that mirror neurons may explain the phenomenon of empaths?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2023/March. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Empath.

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Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Aoidh (talk) 20:28, 24 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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Comment or view
Article history

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... that mirror neurons may explain the phenomenon of empaths? Source: Thomson, Helen (2010-03-10). "We feel your pain: Extreme empaths". New Scientist. doi:10.1016/s0262-4079(11)61228-1. ISSN 0262-4079. Archived from the original on 2010-03-15. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Maureen Keleher and St. Francis Hospice, Hawaii
- Comment: DYK check is wrong about this article as it was frequently deleted outside formal processes like WP:PROD/WP:AfD, three times being replaced with a redirect uncontested. I'm the first moderately experienced editor to try to split the page from empathy.

Created by Psiĥedelisto (talk). Nominated by Psiĥedelisto (talk) at 10:41, 18 January 2023 (UTC).[reply]

I don't really need to be listed as a DYK author for my contributions, but thank you for being generous with sharing credit. WhatamIdoing (talk) 16:54, 18 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

General: Article is new enough and long enough
New enough: Long enough:

Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems
Adequate sourcing: Neutral: Free of copyright violations, plagiarism, and close paraphrasing:

Hook: Hook has been verified by provided inline citation
Cited: Interesting:

QPQ: Done.

Overall: Interesting article. BorgQueen (talk) 10:25, 25 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Psiĥedelisto and BorgQueen: I would really like to promote this hook, but am concerned that two sources in the article probably don't pass WP:RS: The Companion and Swans.com. Could you please take a look and see if other sources could be substituted in the article? Cielquiparle (talk) 13:08, 4 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Cielquiparle and BorgQueen: Hmm. The Swans source is supplementary (i.e. not required to back up the fact, just interesting) and I am not sure what your problem with The Companion is? It's not an incredible source, but it's only serving to show people describe Troi (of Star Trek) as an empath, so I am not sure it's an issue. The fact isn't that important though. Psiĥedelisto (talk • contribs) ^{please always ping!} 04:57, 5 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Cielquiparle: status report? theleekycauldron (talk • contribs) (she/her) 07:15, 20 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I have been looking for possible alternatives to replace The Companion as a source (which by the way has now been taken down), in case that helps. Cielquiparle (talk) 07:35, 20 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

OK, I have upgraded the source for Deanna Troi with an excellent one from this book (may be worth a quick read; you can find the full chapter in SpringerLink via Wikipedia Library). I removed both Swans and PhAct as sources, and upgraded with this article from Life magazine. So anyway, I am happier with the overall sourcing of this article now, and am happy for it to be promoted. Cielquiparle (talk) 06:13, 21 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Claims about self-described empaths

The article says:

They [neuroscientists] suggest that, on average, people who describe themselves as empaths have a greater ability to empathize than other people, and that this ability may be the result of a neurological difference, particularly in the responsiveness of mirror neurons."

The citations provided talk about there being variability in the capacity of humans to empathize with others but they do not appear to suggest that self-identified empaths in particular have a greater ability to empathize with other people. 143.159.85.9 (talk) 11:02, 12 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Origin of the term

"The word and concept first appeared in a 1956 science fiction novel called The Empath by Scottish author JT McIntosh. He was making a play on the word telepath." Google said. No other independent verification. 74.127.201.54 (talk) 16:01, 14 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Is this a paranormal(pseudo science) or an academic term?

I am confused, is this a real scientific term people throw about or is the idea that people can be hyper-empathetic pseudoscience? Drocj (talk) 23:45, 14 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]