I don't believe I mentioned compassion or sympthy. However, in common parlance, an empath is someone who actually feels what other people feel.

Here are some dictionary meanings.

"the ability to understand and share the feelings of another."

"Contemporary researchers often differentiate between two types of empathy: “Affective empathy” refers to the sensations and feelings we get in response to others’ emotions; this can include mirroring what that person is feeling, or just feeling stressed when we detect another’s fear or anxiety. “

"Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing..."

In every single explanation of emapthy, it might stretch to understanding intellectually to how others are feeling, but it also includes what others are feeling.

Did you listen to the video I included. The speaker, author of the book, "Against empathy," explains why one cannot make decisions based on empathy.

Understanding what some others feel is still NOT a basis for making decisions.

And that's what you're missing, and it is what the article is about.