Emotional empathy, nested primarily in the brain's emotional circuitry…
Emotional empathy, nested primarily in the brain's emotional circuitry, lets us know immediately what the other person feels because we feel it, too. Emotional empathy depends on a brain-to-brain linkage, where the emotional circuitry in one person resonates with that in another.
— from The Heart in the Cockpit (Emotion/Awe/Anxiety/Regret/Empathy) · *Optimal: How to Sustain Personal and Organization aExcellence Every Day by Daniel Goleman *
In the book
The simplest definition is the best: empathy is being aware of something and then caring about it. It begins with one question — what would I want if I were in their shoes? There are really two kinds working together: cognitive empathy, which lets you understand how the other person thinks and sees the situation, and emotional empathy, which lets you feel what they feel because, through a kind of brain-to-brain resonance, you actually feel a version of it yourself. The good stuff goes one step further into what scientists now call empathic concern — not just sensing what another feels, but truly caring about their wellbeing. — The Heart in the Cockpit (Emotion/Awe/Anxiety/Regret/Empathy)