Honestly, it feels like it’s everywhere. You can’t scroll through LinkedIn or pick up a parenting book without tripping over the word. It's become this buzzword that people toss around like a organic kale salad at a yoga retreat. Because of that, a lot of people walk around saying, "I think empathy is a new age term." They assume it was cooked up in a California meditation center sometime in the late 90s.
It makes sense why you’d think that.
The word has been weaponized by corporate HR departments and wellness influencers to the point where it feels fluffy. Intangible. Like something that didn't exist before we all started worrying about "vibes." But here’s the kicker: the concept is ancient, even if the specific word we use today is a relatively recent linguistic invention.
The Linguistic Glitch: Why the Word Feels Brand New
The reason people insist empathy is a new age term is that, technically, the English word "empathy" hasn't been around that long. It didn't exist in the time of Shakespeare. You won't find it in the King James Bible.
It’s a translation.
In 1909, a psychologist named Edward Titchener coined the term "empathy" as a translation of the German word Einfühlung. The Germans had been using Einfühlung (literally "feeling into") in the context of aesthetics and art philosophy. They were trying to describe that weird sensation where you look at a painting of a stormy sea and your own chest starts to feel tight. You aren't just looking at the storm; you're feeling into it.
💡 You might also like: Why the Time Difference Between New York and Arizona Is Actually So Confusing
So, if you’re looking at a calendar, yes, "empathy" is a 20th-century word. But 1909 isn't exactly "New Age." That was the year the first Model T was sold in large numbers. It’s old, but it’s not ancient old, which is why it lacks the weight of words like "compassion" or "pity."
The "Feel-Good" Rebrand
The shift into the New Age territory happened in the 1960s and 70s. Carl Rogers, a giant in the world of humanistic psychology, pulled empathy out of the art galleries and put it into the therapy room. He made it about "unconditional positive regard."
Suddenly, empathy wasn't just a psychological mechanism for understanding art; it became a tool for healing. This is where the hippie-dippie connotations started to stick. By the time the 1980s "Self-Help" boom arrived, empathy was being packaged alongside crystals and aromatherapy.
It’s Actually Hard-Wired (The Science of Mirror Neurons)
If you think empathy is just some soft, optional social grace, biology has a bone to pick with you. In the 1990s, researchers at the University of Parma in Italy were studying macaque monkeys. They found something wild.
They noticed that certain neurons in the monkey's brain fired both when the monkey reached for a peanut and when the monkey simply watched a human reach for a peanut. These are called mirror neurons.
Your brain literally simulates the actions and emotions of others.
When you see someone stub their toe and you wince? That's not a "New Age" choice. That’s your premotor cortex doing its job. We are biologically social creatures. If we didn't have the capacity to "feel into" the experiences of the tribe, we wouldn't have survived the Savannah. We would have been lunch.
Empathy vs. Sympathy: The Distinction Matters
A lot of the "New Age" criticism comes from people who confuse empathy with being a "pushover" or being "overly emotional."
- Sympathy is feeling for someone. It’s standing on the edge of a pit and looking down at someone saying, "Wow, that looks like it sucks."
- Empathy is climbing into the pit with them.
It’s a subtle difference, but it’s why people get annoyed with the term. Climbing into the pit is exhausting. It's "emotional labor," another phrase that makes people roll their eyes and think of TikTok therapy. But just because a term is overused doesn't mean the underlying biological reality is fake.
🔗 Read more: Why Brown Reddish Hair Color Is Actually the Hardest Shade to Get Right
Why the Corporate World Ruined the Word
Let’s be real. The reason you might think empathy is a new age term is because of the way it’s used in "cringe" corporate training.
"We need to lead with empathy," says the CEO right before laying off 10% of the workforce.
When words are used as shields for bad behavior, they lose their meaning. They become "New Age" jargon—empty vessels used to sound enlightened without actually doing the work. This "Tactical Empathy," a term popularized by former FBI negotiator Chris Voss, is actually highly effective, but it feels cold when used purely for manipulation.
Voss argues that empathy isn't about being nice. It's about understanding the other person's perspective so well that you can anticipate their next move. That’s not New Age. That’s Sun Tzu. That’s "Know thy enemy."
The Stoics and the Ancients
Long before Titchener translated Einfühlung, the Stoics were talking about oikeiôsis. This was the idea of "appropriation" or "making something one's own." Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor, wrote extensively about the need to understand the internal drivers of other people.
He didn't call it empathy. He called it justice and social duty.
He believed that because all humans share the capacity for reason, we are all part of a single body. If one part of the body is hurting, the rest of it should know about it. If you read Meditations, you'll see a man who was desperately trying to use empathy to keep from becoming a tyrant.
It was a survival strategy for a ruler, not a lifestyle choice for a bohemian.
Can You Have "Too Much" Empathy?
There is a dark side to this that the New Age crowd usually ignores. Paul Bloom, a psychologist at Yale, wrote a whole book called Against Empathy. His argument is fascinating and honestly pretty refreshing if you're tired of the "empathy is everything" narrative.
Bloom argues that empathy is biased.
We find it very easy to empathize with people who look like us, talk like us, and share our values. It’s a "spotlight" that focuses on one person but leaves everyone else in the dark. If we base our morality entirely on empathy, we make bad decisions.
Think about it. We might be so moved by the story of one specific child in need that we ignore a policy change that would help ten thousand children we’ve never met. Empathy is visceral; statistics are boring. Bloom suggests that "rational compassion" is better than pure empathy.
Rational compassion means you care about people and want to help, but you don't necessarily have to feel their pain to do the right thing.
Is the Term Dying Out?
We might be reaching "Peak Empathy."
The data shows that empathy levels in college students have actually been dropping since the 2000s. Some researchers, like Sara Konrath at the University of Michigan, point to the rise of social media and the "selfie culture" as the culprits.
When everyone is their own brand, there isn't much room to "feel into" someone else's brand.
Because of this decline, the word "empathy" has been pushed even harder by educators and activists. This creates a feedback loop. The more the word is pushed, the more "New Age" and forced it feels to the average person.
💡 You might also like: Is 21 C to Fahrenheit Actually Room Temperature? The Truth About That Magic Number
Actionable Insights: How to Use It Without Being "Cringe"
If you want to practice the reality of empathy without sounding like a New Age cliché, you have to change your approach. It’s not about "sending good vibes." It’s about data collection.
1. Stop saying "I understand how you feel."
You don't. You can't. Even if you’ve been through something similar, your brain is wired differently. Instead, try: "It sounds like you're feeling [Emotion]. Is that right?" This is called affective labeling. It’s a grounded, psychological technique that works better than any New Age platitude.
2. Practice "Perspective Taking" over "Feeling."
Don't try to cry because they're crying. Try to map out their logic. What are they afraid of? What is their goal? This is cognitive empathy. It’s useful in business, in marriage, and in traffic. It’s a skill, not a personality trait.
3. Recognize the physical toll.
If you are someone who naturally feels what others feel, recognize that "Empathy Fatigue" is a real medical phenomenon, common in nurses and therapists. You have to set boundaries. You can't pour from an empty cup—that’s a cliché for a reason.
4. Check your bias.
Ask yourself: "Would I feel this much empathy if this person voted for the other guy?" If the answer is no, your empathy is a tribal tool, not a moral one. Acknowledging that bias is the first step to moving past the superficial "New Age" version of the term.
Empathy isn't a modern invention or a soft trend. It is the ancient, biological glue that keeps humans from tearing each other apart. The word might be a bit shiny and new, but the machinery behind it is as old as our species.
Stop worrying about whether the term is "New Age" and start looking at whether you’re actually using the faculty. It’s the difference between reading a menu and eating the meal. One is a linguistic exercise; the other is what actually keeps you alive.
Next Steps for Practical Application
To get past the jargon and actually use this in your life, start by practicing "Active Listening" for just five minutes a day. In your next conversation, don't plan your rebuttal while the other person is talking. Wait until they finish, then summarize what they said back to them. If you can do that without adding your own "spin" or advice, you've just practiced more real empathy than most people do in a week. It’s hard, it’s mechanical, and it’s remarkably effective at de-escalating conflict.