em.path.y (em’pə’thē) n. [<Gr. <en- in + pathos, feeling] the ability to share in another’s emotions, thoughts, or feelings

rad.i.cal (rad’i k’l) adj. [<LL. < Lm radicis, genitive of radix, ROOT] 1. a) of, from, or going to the root or source; fundamental; basic [a radical principle] b) extreme; thorough [a radical change in one’s life] 2. a) favoring basic or extreme change, as in the social or economic structure b) [R-] designating or of any of various modern political parties, as in Europe ranging from moderate to conservative –n. 1. a) a basic part of something b) a fundamental 2. a) a person having radical views b) [R-] a member of a Radical party 3 Chem. A group of two or more atoms that acts as a single atom and goes through a reaction unchanged, or is replaced by a single atom 4. Math. a) an expression showing that a root is to be figured b) same as RADICAL SIGN

rad.i.cal em.path.y
1. an emergent property of the social needs and the biological organization and limitations of the human being
2. the ability to “read” the world and assess it accurately by the way it makes the body feel
3. often felt as “moving out” from the world of “me”, into the world of “I” “we” and “it”
4. often interpreted as a “mystical experience” (and all that phrase encodes within any particular culture or group)
5. is simultaneously used as a noun describing a state (when it is perceived as subjective [as coming from within the body]), a verb when describing a task or responsibility (when it is perceived as relational [coming from the space between the relating beings]) and an ethic (when perceived objectively [coming from without the being])
6. our newest, and therefore weakest, evolutionary gift and therefore a function of training—Just as the capacity of language is coded into a child by birth, language cannot develop without socialization, so radical empathy is coded into us (probably in a rudimentary way) but can only be activated by training.

Definitions “radical” and “empathy” from: New World Dictionary of the American Language Students Edition Prentice-Hall. David B. Guralnik, Editor in Chief. Published in 1981 by Simon & Schuster.