From: Kate Distin (memes@distin.co.uk)
Date: Fri 20 Jan 2006 - 15:12:48 GMT
Chris Taylor wrote:
> Nature: Advanced Online Publication
>
> 18 January 2006
> LETTERS
> Empathic neural responses are modulated by the perceived fairness of others
> Tania Singer et al.
> doi: 10.1038/nature04271
>
> In a nutshell, if you see another as an unfair game player, you have
> less empathy for them. Not got time to expand on why this might be
> within the low-level framework I described previously but perhaps it
> might be interesting if they explored whether two unfair people share
> greater empathy (i.e. maybe it is 'otherness' that is the issue)? Anyway
> there is a (acc. to Singer et al.) a firewall blocking empathic sharing
> of the pain of the 'unworthy'.
>
> Cheers, Chris.
>
>
Interestingly, doesn't recent primate research indicate that chimps have
a sense of fairness but no capacity for altruism - so they can see
what's unfair but don't care so long as it's not themselves losing out?
And presumably altruism is related in some close way to empathy.
Actually I've now lost track of how this relates to your point, above.
Hey ho.
Kate
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