The phenomenon of empathy, understood here to be a mechanism that allows us to ascertain the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of others, provides us with one avenue to address the “problem of other minds”. While the concept of empathy has experienced a renaissance recently, the research and theoretical concepts we have examined raise the possibility that it may not actually exist. Considering the dual nature of human emotional experience (physical and symbolic) explored in the text, respond to ONE of the following three prompts:
1. If we accept that human emotions are constrained to that of individual experience, how might we explain the process and functioning of empathy? Be sure to consider the multiple aspects of emotions discussed in the text.
2. If we assume the existence of empathy in humans, what limitations might such a phenomenon have in relation to structure of human emotional experience? What impact could these limitations have on our ability to understand “other minds”?
3. If we accept the premise that empathy cannot exist, at least insofar as it is described above, then how do we explain the perpetuation of the “miracle of social order”? With the dual nature of human emotional experience in mind, what other mechanisms could we use to explain the enduring quality of human social interaction?
Your response need only be a page or less, though you are welcome to elaborate further if you so choose.
READINGS FROM CLASS HAVE BEEN ATTACHED
