Empathy is a fundamental concept in health care and nursing. In academic literature, it has been primarily defined as a personal ability, act or experience. The relational dimensions of empathy have received far less attention. In our view, individualistic conceptualizations are restricted and do not adequately reflect the practice of empathy in daily care. We argue that a relational conceptualization of empathy contributes to a more realistic, nuanced and deeper understanding of the functions and limitations of empathy in professional care practices. In this article, we explore the relational aspects of empathy, drawing on sources that offer a relational approach, such as the field of care ethics, the phenomenology of Edith Stein and qualitative research into interpersonal and interactive empathy. We analyse the relational aspects of three prevalent components of empathy definitions: the underlying ability or act (i.e. the cognitive, affective and perception abilities that enable empathy); the resulting experience (i.e. empathic understanding and affective responsivity) and the expression of this experience (i.e. empathic expression). Ultimately, we propose four inter‐related understandings of empathy: (a) A co‐creative practice based on the abilities and activities of both the empathizer and the empathee; (b) A fundamentally other‐oriented experience; (c) A dynamic, interactive process in which empathizer and empathee influence each other's experiences; (d) A quality of relationships .

Based on our findings, we formulate pathways that may guide the further analysis of empathy in care practices and care ethics.

In this article, we introduce a general theory about meaning in life developed by our first author, and apply it to the context of ageing. The seven components of meaning distinguished by this theory – purpose, moral worth, selfworth, control, coherence, excitement and connectedness – are discussed in turn. After presenting the theory, we confront the seven  components with extensive life narratives of two older men – in a first empirical qualitative exploration of how meaning dimensions appear in the life experiences of older people. This dialogue between theory and narrative is used to provide concretisation and clarification of the seven components, thereby enhancing the understanding of the theory, while at the same time suggesting possible refinements and directions for future exploration of meaning in life in the context of ageing.

Wooncomplexen voor ouderen: sociale kwaliteit ontstaat niet vanzelf De Nederlandse overheid stimuleert dat ouderen zo lang mogelijk zelfstandig blijven wonen. De meeste ouderen willen dit ook, mits aan bepaalde voorwaarden is voldaan. Ze hebben vooral behoefte aan een levendige woonomgeving waarin ze gemakkelijk kunnen participeren en contacten kunnen leggen. Dit sociale aspect is voor veel mensen een belangrijke reden om naar een wooncomplex voor ouderen te verhuizen. Corporaties concentreren zich echter op fysieke en materiële aspecten van het wonen; versterking van de sociale kwaliteit wordt aan de bewoners zelf overgelaten. Om inzicht te krijgen in de mogelijkheden van ouderen om de sociale kwaliteit van hun wooncomplex te vergroten, is het experiment "Vitale woongemeenschappen" uitgevoerd in Dr. Wander van der Vaart is associate professor research methodology at the University of Humanistic Studies. His main research interests are in "meaning in life" studies and methods of data collection, in particular as focused on hard-to-study populations.

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