MISSEDLINK

Empathy - Mark Honigsbaum: LINK ¤ the GUARDIAN

 

• "Barack Obama says we have to - cultivate empathy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "and presses for more empathy - in the world !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "empathy is part of the - civilization !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "although empathy is a commonly used word in debates - it is not easy to define for the science !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "the word first appeared in a 1909 lecture - by the Cornell psychologist Edward Titchener !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "inspired by the German term "Einfühlung" - meaning - "feeling into"  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "Titchener compares empathy - to an enlivening process !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "whereby an art object - evokes actual or incipient - bodily movements !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and accompanying emotions - in the viewer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• "for empathy to become more like - sympathy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "it first had to transit from aesthetics - to interpersonal psychology - and the new brain sciences !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the key shift came in 1992 - when a group of Italian researchers - observed neurons in macaque monkeys !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "that fired both - when they picked up a raisin !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and when they saw - a person - pick up a raisin !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "a few years later similar "mirror neurons" - were identified in humans !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "since then neuroscience has greatly expanded - our understanding of the - "empathy circuit"  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the key brain regions - appear to be the amygdala !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "which is involved in the regulation of - emotional learning !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and the reading of - emotional expressions !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "another area is the anterior insula - AI - which lights up in response !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "both to one's own - condition !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and a loved one's - condition !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "as well as to emotional elicitors - such as tastes and images !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "perhaps the most important region of all - is the medial prefrontal cortex - MPC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "a "hub" for social information processing - the MPC modulates self-awareness !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "and our awareness of other people's - thoughts and feelings !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "these discoveries show that empathy is hard-wired - and that we are primed for morality !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "hence the writer Jeremy Rifkin says - that these circuits are the source !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "of humanity's desire - for intimate participation - and companionship !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

• "decades of scientific research - show !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "that people are kinder - to those they view as - human beings !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "we make the imaginative effort - to step into the shoes of - another person !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "and see things - from their perspective !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "brain imaging studies of - Buddhists !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "who use meditation exercises - to contemplate compassion - on a daily basis !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "show increased activation - of the amygdala !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "and other parts of the brain's - empathy circuit !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• "when we empathise - oxytocin and other chemicals flood !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "the brain's - pleasure centres !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "resulting in a - "warm glow" - effect !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "similar surges occur - when people are asked to play - economic exchange games !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "designed to elicit - trust !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "according to neuroeconomists such as Paul Zak - this suggests !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "that empathy - and trust - are two sides of the same adaptive response !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the idea being - that our brains have evolved - so that it literally feels good !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "to empathise - and to trust people !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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