Pity

Pity is a sympathetic sorrow evoked by the suffering of others, and is used in a comparable sense to compassion, condolence or empathy - the word deriving from the Latin pietās (etymon also of piety). Pity is a sympathetic sorrow evoked by the suffering of others, and is used in a comparable sense to compassion, condolence or empathy - the word deriving from the Latin pietās (etymon also of piety). Two different kinds of pity can be distinguished, 'benevolent pity' and 'contemptuous pity' (see Kimball), where, through insincere, pejorative usage, pity is used to connote feelings of superiority, condescension, or contempt. Psychologists see pity arising in early childhood out of the infant’s ability to identify with others. Psychoanalysis sees a more convoluted route to (at least some forms of) adult pity by way of the sublimation of aggression – pity serving as a kind of magic gesture intended to show how leniently one should oneself be treated by one’s own conscience. Modern neurology asserts that pity consists of an initial aversion to the plight of the sufferer, after which the higher parts of the brain make a more nuanced assessment of the situation (e.g., considering the context and invoking empathy, etc.). While a person experiencing pity may feel have a combination of intense sorrow and mercy for the one in need, often giving the pitied some kind of aid, physical help, and/or financial assistance, pity may actually be psychologically harmful to the pitied: Self-pity and depression can sometimes be the result of the power imbalance fostered by pity, sometimes with extremely negative psychological and psycho-social consequences for the pitied party.