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The act or capacity of entering into or sharing the feelings of another is known as sympathy. Empathy, on the other hand, not only is an identification of sorts but also connotes an awareness of one's separateness from the observed. One of the most difficult tasks put upon man is reflective commitment to another's problem while maintaining his own identity. The ways in which one person may react to another are infinite. A subtle and significant feature of a happy medical practice is to remain unencumbered by the patient's problem.
Charles D. Aring (Sat,) studied this question.