History and Empaths

[Spirited]

I just got to thinking this, so bear with me. I was wondering if there were any famous people in history who, in retrospect, could have been Empaths. I'm not even sure whether it would've been the kind of thing people recorded; it seems likely it might've been the type of thing people just didn't speak about for fear of it being thrown under the banner heading of "Witchcraft." I mean, is it a gift which has only just started appearing in people? Or has it been with us since we "began"?

As a matter of fact, when did the term "Empath" first become a noun rather than just being "empathy"? I know there was that woman in...um...that tv show (heh, my dad would know this *rolls eyes*), but was it used before that?

I know some of these questions can't really be answered with solid facts, but it's just something that I've been thinking about this past hour and I wondered whether anyone had any opinions. It's interesting, at least.

Anyway, thanks for reading all the way to the bottom of this post :hahugh:

Amy

[Lunacie]

Hmmm, interesting questions. I don't know if it's quite as clear in hindsight to tell who probably had the gift/curse of Empathy in the past as it can be to tell who had the gift/curse of ADD/ADHD in the past (Einstein for one).

I'll let that sit on the back burner for awhile and see if anything bubbles to the surface.

[Hawk Shadowsoul]

I don't know when the term empath came to be, but the gift is certainly not new. No matter what name it has ever been known by, it has always been. I would suspect many in the past have been empathic, especially the ones who have made major breakthroughs in a given field. As you said, scientific proof is impossible, but common sense says it has to be so.