The Influence of Empathy in Public Opinion Discourse

Abstract

The simple system of spreading an opinion or appreciation must not be confused with the broad system of forming public opinion. The criterion according to which an opinion is considered public opinion is not the degree of dissemination through mass media or other means but the degree of fidelity of the transmitted opinions that express what is common to the general public. The system of forming group opinions and the polarity feature of individual opinions should not be confused with the process of creating public opinion, whose action is to involve consensus, not to exclude it. The process of forming public opinion does not eliminate the confrontation of individual opinions on different issues. Discussions and confrontations between individual opinions or between currents of opinion, including some larger or smaller communities, do not constitute public opinion; they express the common point of view reached.