Empathy and Prosocial Behaviours. Insights from Intra- and Inter-species Interactions

• Main Authors: Maria elide Vanutelli, Michela Balconi
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Mimesis Edizioni, Milano 2015-04-01
• Series: Rivista Internazionale di Filosofia e Psicologia
• Subjects: Empathy; Emotion; Prosocial Behaviours; Intra- and Inter-species Interaction.; Empathy; Emotion; Prosocial Behaviours; Intra- and Inter-species Interaction
• Online Access: http://www.rifp.it/ojs/index.php/rifp/article/view/rifp.2015.0007

It has been suggested that “sharing the same body” between the observer and the observed subject allows for a direct form of understanding and emotional attuning by a process of simulation. Then, what happens when we don’t share the same body? The aim of the present paper is to review available evidence of intra- and inter-species empathic and prosocial behaviours, with respect to within-human, within-animals and cross-specifies interactions. Similarities and differences will be evaluated using a comparative perspective, and some possible moral and ethical implications for human-animal interactions will be discussed. According to Charles Darwin’s work, the perceived differences between human and animal empathy could be more quantitative than qualitative, suggesting a common affective core which allows both categories to mirror and tune to conspecifics’ feelings, where in the case of humans it can be integrated with more complex cognitive processes.