>>515551473
>but legitimately? "which hasn't even existed for most of history". Like have you ever opened a history book?
I have. I'm well-read. You though, you got mostly Bs in school, and they told you that you qualified for the gifted class, huh? The word doesn't show up until the early 20th century in English, and the concept itself is late 19th century. Go look it up, I can wait.
>There are endless examples of empathic actions 
No, you just imagine that. Linguistically, if there were so many examples (endless!), then someone would have coined a word for it, or borrowed it from another language (oh, wait, they didn't have any words for it either!). 
>actions people took because they could place themselves in the situation of the other,
That's sympathy. When you can relate to the other person, when you can see it from their perspective, you understand them. Perhaps you can be a bit more kind, and you certainly refuse to blame them for the parts that they aren't culpable. But it doesn't sway you.
This must be so confusing to you. You've been brainfucked since before you can remember, and you believe this empathy is real. You believe that unless you defend it (since if it is undefended, then your "feelers" won't mean anything), no one will know how awesomely empathetic you are.
>It's an extremely ancient trait that's been with us f
Fuckstick, when have you ever studied antiquity? How many ancient languages do you read? Hell, when you have to read translations (because you HAVE to, you can't read it in the original), how often was the translator born post-1950? Nothing you say makes even a goddamned bit of sense, but you believe this shit. If there is an opposite to this empathy thing, I feel that for you. You disgust me.