Hans-Joachim Maaz

Our understanding of others remains limited. Only he who understands himself, can understand others. An understanding of ourselves, the basis of empathy, is gained through our social experiences in early childhood. Limited empathy can lead to narcissistic tendencies. And narcissistic tendencies during our development can reduce our ability to empathise with others. Narcissistic tendencies can therefore mean that one fails to show empathy in conflicts, in the case of social injustices or for those with a different lifestyle. A lack of empathy is the source of all other shortcomings in our development.

Dr Hans-Joachim Maaz specialises in psychiatry, psychotherapy und psychosomatics. Since 1990, he has written and published numerous columns, essays and books, amongst others, “Die narzisstische Gesellschaft – Ein Psychogramm (2012).”

Lecture in advance of the conference, “Empathy”, on 24^th October.

Language: German

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