Empathy
From: Ray Recchia (rrecchia@frontiernet.net)
Date: Fri 26 Dec 2003 - 15:30:57 GMT
Next message: Trehinp@aol.com: "Re: Empathy"
As a "meme in the mind" person one of the things that interests
me is empathy in humans and other species. When we see
someone stub their toe or bang their head, we frequently wince in
sympathy. We recognize what they are feeling and to a certain
extent reproduce it in our heads. To my way of thinking, human
empathy was a prerequisite for the development of language. In
order for concepts to transfer from mind to mind, I think we had to have
the ability to recognize that what was in our heads had analogies in the
heads of others.
I know I'm going to have to do a little research, but I suspect the
experiments have already been done showing that when a person views
something painful or otherwise emotional powerful happening to someone
else, regions in the brain are activated in the person viewing the event
that are similar to the ones in the person that the event is actually
happening to.
A quick search on Google came up with the following article:
Neuroscientists Searching For Roots Of Empathy Find Brain Regions
Involved In Learning By Imitation
http://www.washington.edu/newsroom/news/2002archive/01-02archive/k012202.html
I'd be interested in any similar studies anyone else has found. I
would also be interested in seeing what results animal studies have
produced.
Raymond Recchia
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: Fri 26 Dec 2003 - 15:39:49 GMT