Antipathy

Antipathy is dislike for something or somebody, the opposite of sympathy. While antipathy may be induced by previous experience, it sometimes exists without a rational cause-and-effect explanation being present to the individuals involved.

Thus, the origin of antipathy has been subject to various psychological explanations, which some people find convincing and others regard as highly speculative. Sigmund Freud has treated this subject.

"A woman may very well form a friendship with a man, but for this to endure, it must be assisted by a little physical antipathy," said Friedrich Nietzsche

Interpersonal Antipathy

Interpersonal antipathy is often irrationally ascribed to mannerisms or certain physical characteristics, which are perceived as signs for character traits (e.g. close together, deep set eyes as a sign for dullness or crueltyAlexander, C. (1946a). Antipathy and Phobia. "Sociometry, 9" (2/3), 226-232.] ). Furthermore, the negative feeling sometimes takes place fast and without reasoning, functioning below the level of attention, thus resembling an automatic processAlexander, C. (1946b). Antipathy and Social Begavior. "The American Journal of Sociology, 51" (4), 288-292.] .

Chester Alexander’s empirical findings suggest that an important characteristic of antipathies is that they are “marginal to reflective consciousness”. Alexander based this conclusion on the fact that many of the subjects of the study reported to have never thought much about their antipathies, have not tried to analyze them or discuss them with others.

Sympathy and antipathy modify social behavior. Although it is generally assumed that antipathy causes avoidance, some empirical studies gathered evidence that an antipathetic reaction to objects was not followed by any effort to avoid future encounters.

Pseudo-Antipathy

Sophie Bryant observed the occurrence of pseudo-antipathy. Pseudo-antipathy consists in “the careless and arbitrary interpretation of another person’s acts and expressions in accordance with the worst side of one’s self”Bryant, S. (1895). Antipathy and Sympathy. "Mind, 4" (15), 365-370.] . In other words, we tend to project our own faults into others and hate them. Pseudo-antipathy is based on the (implicit) knowledge about the negative sides of one’s own character. Sophie Bryant compares the resulting feeling with “a certain wrong-headed sense of cleansing”.

In Astrology

In astrology, antipathy is the conflict in the natal horoscopes of two people who feel an aversion to each other. This relates to the concept of synastry, which means that according to astrologists beliefs, two person's horoscopes can be compared to see how compatible or incompatible they are likely to be towards each other.

Astrologic theory claims the following: The karmic implications of antipathy can explain why people fall in love, marry, fall out of love, and then divorce. Because they have agreed to meet up in this life to resolve a karmic or dharmic issue, they must initially be attracted to one another, so there will inevitably be correlations in the horoscope that will cause them to be attracted to one another. For those individuals who fall in love and want to marry, there must be strong stabilising influences in the comparison of the chart to indicate they would like to have a stable relationship with some permanence in it. As the relationship progresses, other facets of their personality will manifest though aspects, and it is these aspects will determine the success or failure of the relationship.
* [http://www.hompath.net/allopathy/antipathy.php Antipathy]

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