2023/12/18 by Riana J. Betzler · 1 voice
Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Cultural Differences and Values #Empathy and Medical Education #Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
paper · doi:10.1080/09515089.2023.2296600
openalex publication_date 2023/12/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/14
Many people think of empathy as a powerful force for good within society and as a crucial component of moral cognition. Recently, prominent theorists in psychology and philosophy have challenged this viewpoint and mounted a case against empathy. The most compelling versions of this case rely heavily on empirical evidence from psychology and neuroscience. They contend that the inherent partiality and parochialism of empathy undermines its potential to serve moral ends. This paper argues that the argument against empathy overreaches; it makes an unwarranted inference from descriptive evidence about our empathic capacities to normative claims about the proper role of empathy in culture, society, and ethics. The paper concludes with suggestions about how to use insights from the empirical literature to build a more nuanced and contextually sensitive account of the role of empathy in our ethical lives.