Yeah I would argue that it's real. To some extent taught but with an innate component that transforms the experience into an emotional sensation. I mean, isnt that pretty much how we differentiate a "normal person" from a narcissist or psychopath. The latter typically have the learned component of empathy - whch they take full advantage of - but lack the innate one - resulting in that they don't actually stop themselves or give a crap when it's more personally beneficial to not act in accordance with the norms.