Sympathy is a basic human need and provides the basis for coexistence. Without sympathy, social relationships atrophy, and if we lack sympathy we are not doing justice to our humanity. However, this existential capacity for sympathy is now increasingly being lost. Growing hatred, narcissistic egomania and a spreading attitude of global indifference are symptoms of a sick society that is increasingly suffering from a loss of sympathy. How can sympathy, and with it our humanity, be rescued in times of profound social and technological upheaval? Maximilian Gottschlich provides a clear answer: we need a new culture of empathetic communication & because sympathy develops primarily within language-mediated social relationships, in speech that takes an interest in the personality and existence of another person, in every word in which fellow human beings feel that they are being taken seriously and their concerns and needs are being understood. The ethical foundations on which this type of language of sympathy is based and its distinctive features are made clear in this committed and interdisciplinary plea for a new empathetic communication culture.