In shortReaders who land here meaning Sonder rather than Empathy are usually searching for phrases like “the realization that every stranger has a life as full as mine”, “that feeling on a train that everyone around me has a whole inner world”, “suddenly seeing strangers as real, complete people”.
Sonder
“the realization that every stranger has a life as full as mine”
“that feeling on a train that everyone around me has a whole inner world”
“suddenly seeing strangers as real, complete people”
“the word for realizing you're a background character in others' lives”
Empathy
“what is empathy”
“empathy vs sympathy”
“can you have too much empathy”
“empathy vs compassion”
03
03 · Which came first
Which came first
In shortEmpathy. 1909 — Edward Bradford Titchener coins the English word: 'a simple case of empathy, if we may coin that term as a rendering of Einfühlung.'
1909
Empathy. Edward Bradford Titchener coins the English word: 'a simple case of empathy, if we may coin that term as a rendering of Einfühlung.'
2012
Sonder. John Koenig coins 'sonder' for his Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows blog.