The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.

When you sing with a group of people you learn how to subsume yourself into a group consciousness because a capella singing is all about the immersion of the self into the community. That's one of the great feelings - to stop being me for a little while and to become us. That way lies empathy the great social virtue.

Republicans rarely criticize Obama for lack of empathy - in part because liberals have traditionally been seen as standing up for the weak and the vulnerable. Conservatives can be just as empathetic. But they believe that in most cases it's not government's role to be the primary dispenser of empathy.

Normal people have an incredible lack of empathy. They have good emotional empathy but they don't have much empathy for the autistic kid who is screaming at the baseball game because he can't stand the sensory overload. Or the autistic kid having a meltdown in the school cafeteria because there's too much stimulation.

I have so much empathy for these young actors that are 19 and all of a sudden they're beautiful and famous and rich. I'm like 'Oh my God I'd be dead.'

I have a profound empathy for people who are in the public eye whether they manifest it themselves or whether it happened by accident - it doesn't matter to me. I think there's a great misunderstanding of what it is to be famous.

Women are in my view natural peacemakers. As givers and nurturers of life through their focus on human relationships and their engagement with the demanding work of raising children and protecting family life they develop a deep sense of empathy that cuts through to underlying human realities.

Learning is a result of listening which in turn leads to even better listening and attentiveness to the other person. In other words to learn from the child we must have empathy and empathy grows as we learn.

I think that every therapist that I know including my dad and my sister have their own issues. But that empathy is what makes them good at their job.

Traits like humility courage and empathy are easily overlooked - but it's immensely important to find them in your closest relationships.