The (Deep) End of Empathy

Following an overview of the trends in contemporary scholarship on empathy, this article describes the lived experience of individuals with deep empathic sensitivity. Narrative accounts were drawn from 30 participants who were identified as deeply empathic. The epistemic contours are sketched through five themes describing: the complexity of boundary permeability, embodied knowing, expansive spiritual identifications, reacting versus responding, and various keys to developing and integrating resonant knowing. Both significant difficulties and profound meaning were described, highlighting the problems with and potential in deep empathic capacity. This resonant knowing captures an epistemic style more consistent with contemporary understanding of embodied cognition as well as concepts of a more interconnected worldview. Implications for integrating knowing and being for both individual growth and for an emergent cultural episteme were identified.