Do you think a person can have empathy wthout a good imagination?

I think that in a limited way a person can have empathy without a good imagination because they can still reflect back on things like the sitaution that have happened to them and act accordingly which is a form of empathy. That being said I don't think one could be fully empathetic to everything without a good imagination because there are sitautions that we have not experienced that may require us to be empathetic so in the route of searching for the best response we may need to imagine our selfs in that sitaution. But the way we experience these thoughts may also be biased because one thing that horribly effects some people may have no or less effect on me or you or whoever. So in the end I think that our responses use a full aray of our ability to fully explain.

hello lady leene... i would say that yes, someone can have empathy without imagination. when facing a situation where empathy is needed, imagination isn't needed if you have vivid memories of actual past experiences that bring forth an empathetic response. someone who lacks imagination could very well have had emotional experiences that can be used to draw from when empathy is called for. great question! peace and wellness, ~julie phineas

maybe the person still can.. but not a satisfactory of the true purpose.. its lacking and incomplete.. it will be like a picture of the whole is missing in piece.. imagination is necessary, its very important to most of the success of every possible logical or artistic or even reasoning that we have to exercise.. take care ^_^

I don't think so - but I'm going to have to think about that for a while. Good question! However, since empathy is "being able to feel the emotion of another" - I would assume that one would either have to have a good imagination, or would have had to have experianced a myriad of things - or have had experienced exactly the same thing as the person who the empathy would be directed to, and have the same mindset. In short, no.

Yes I think you can have one without the other. To me empathy comes from being able to open up the heart and mind to 'feel' genuine compassion for other. The other way empathy comes is when people have gone through similar experiences. They are truly able to empathize in ways that goes way beyond 'imagining' what another has gone through...or is going through. So in my view I'd rather have some one empathize because they've walked a similar path than for someone to 'try to imagine' what it feels like. Interesting topic.. Raia