Do you consider empathy to be a necessary emotion?

I'll skip my life story and try to sum up my question. I function as well as most other early 20's guy. I have excellent people skills as well as literary skills. I keep great company and have a fantastic job and a great relationship. However. I've discovered one frightening thing about my self, I have a genuine problem feeling empathy. So take in consideration my quality of life and tell me, Do you think empathy Is a necessary emotion?

Empathy is not a necessary trait to have, this is true. The path of least resistance involves living completely selfishly. However, empathy is usually a key component in building and maintaining relationships. Being able to relate and feel compassion for others is greatly beneficial in that respect.

But in the strictest and most objective of terms, Empathy is unnecessary.

Not really i have done pretty well without it, but that is not without it's drawback's. It just makes understanding people a little harder, but as you seem to have mentioned you are pretty good with people.

So i would expect it to be not much of a problem for you.

For the sake of argument, Let's say my my social abillities allows me to feign the ability to relate to other people and feel compassion for them, are there any other negative properties to a lack of empathy?

None that may be apparent immediately. But you may find yourself incapable of establishing a meaningful bond with someone, simply because you yourself cannot find it in you to really feel for the other person.

Hmm. You're intellectual answers to all of my topics that try to open a window into the average pysche..,

A WORTHY RIVAL YOU SHALL BE!

But maybe my feelings for a person don't stem from my empathy twords them ( Or lack there of). Couldn't I care for them on a deep level just because I appreciate them as a person and admire their own personal traits?

People said that my level of empathy is minus, since I am bad at that kind of stuff.
But that said, I don't have any problem living without any sense of empathy, I don't think its necessary (necessary to survive in this world).
It would be a great advantage if you have one though, you need empathy if you want to build a lasting relationship. I need to work on mine, I know.

What you're saying doesn't seem exclusive to empathy at all.

I don't think empathy is necessary, but it can be very useful. The way I see it, empathy allows you to in share the lives of others, or at least what you view their lives as. Thus, it can bring you great joy to share in others' joy and it can bring you great sorrow to share in others' sorrow.

However, and this is just a feeling for which I have no empirical proof, empathy allows for much more pleasure than it does pain, and individuals and society as a whole would be better off with more empathy.

Well, the meaning of life is to live and have a good time doing it, preferably while helping others have a good time as well. Empathy is optional, but extremely beneficial. You might want to talk about why you think you're lacking empathy, though. A definition is good, but may not directly address your problems.