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Lack of Empathy/Analysis: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
Several real-world mental disorders are associated with a lack of empathy. The real-world situation informs fiction but neither really mirrors the other.
Autistic people and those with [[Useful Notes/Aspergers Syndrome|Aspergers Syndrome]] are sometimes held to lack empathy, but it's contended that that they are just bad at expressing empathy. It is also harder for autistic people to tell what someone else is feeling - a problem that easily tips over into a perception of a lack of empathy. In other words, it's not that they don't feel empathy so much as they're bad at perceiving its need and getting others to perceive it in them. This unfortunately contributes to the image of Asperger's Syndrome as being used by [[GIFT|people over the Internet]] as an excuse for being a [[Jerkass]] [[Know
People with narcissistic personality disorder can lack empathy. The idea is that narcissists are too busy with themselves to consider other people's feelings. Related to narcissism (at least according to [[Wikipedia]]) is a condition known as schizoid personality disorder. The conditions of these are not so much lack of empathy as the inability to express feelings, but the result ends up looking the same (i.e. the person appears "not to care"). The distinction between this and narcissism is that the narcissist tries to set themselves ''above'' other people, while the schizoid is ''away'' from them, an introvert withdrawing from others ([[Emotionless Girl]] and [[Hikkikomori]] are a good example of the kind of behavior demonstrated, only they are both present).
People with borderline personality disorder are also often accused of lack of empathy but most of the time they are just reckless, irresponsible, and don't like to talk about issues (relationships or otherwise).
Of course, we have to mention [
In general, sociopaths experience the world so differently as to be effectively unperceivable by those with any grasp of empathy. They feel anger but it tends to be short-lived, often lasting only seconds, though the anger is often explosive and uncontrolled. They are very egocentric and callous, and they do not appreciate the consequences of their actions. They can be, however, very, very good at ''reading'' other peoples emotions and imitating them; this enables them to be highly sociable and some people live normally with undiagnosed ASPD for years and by extension all their lives, appearing to be a law-abiding and healthy member of society simply by mimicking the law-abiding behaviour of those around them (although they do not grasp ''why'' this is the accepted social standard).
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Lack Of Empathy]]
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