Empathy and the evolution of compassion: From deep history to infused virtue

Zygon 52 (1):258-278 (2017)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

This article poses a challenge to contemporary theories in psychology that portray empathy as a negative force in the moral life. Instead, drawing on alternative psychological and philosophical literature, especially Martha Nussbaum, I argue that empathy is related to the virtue of compassion and therefore crucial for moral action. Evidence for evolutionary anthropological accounts of compassion in early hominins provides additional arguments for its positive value in deep human history. I discuss this work alongside Thomistic notions of practical wisdom, compassion, misericordia, and the importance of reason in the moral life. The tension between “bottom up” accounts of empathy and that according to a theological interpretation of “infused” virtues also needs to be addressed. From a secular perspective, infused virtue is a projection of the ideal moral life, but from a theological perspective, it is a way of understanding how human capacities through the action of grace can reach beyond what seem to be the limits of psychological moral identity.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,616

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Compassion and Beyond.Roger Crisp - 2008 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 11 (3):233-246.
The desired moral attitude of the physician: (I) empathy. [REVIEW]Petra Gelhaus - 2012 - Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 15 (2):103-113.
In Defense of the Moral Significance of Empathy.Aaron Simmons - 2014 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 17 (1):97-111.
The desired moral attitude of the physician: (II) compassion. [REVIEW]Petra Gelhaus - 2012 - Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 15 (4):397-410.
Pity and compassion as social virtues.Brian Carr - 1999 - Philosophy 74 (3):411-429.
A Remedy called Empathy: The Neglected Element of Human Rights Theory.Frederik von Harbou - 2013 - Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie 99 (2):133-151.
Empathy and Its Role in Morality.Meghan Masto - 2015 - Southern Journal of Philosophy 53 (1):74-96.
Compassion.William J. Prior - 1987 - Philosophy and Theology 2 (2):173-191.

Analytics

Added to PP
2017-02-13

Downloads
66 (#222,838)

6 months
5 (#247,092)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?