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Empathy, Simulation, and Narrative

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2012

Shaun Gallagher
Shaun Gallagher*
Affiliation:
University of Memphis (USA) and University of Hertfordshire (UK) E-mail: s.gallagher@memphis.edu
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Argument

A number of theorists have proposed simulation theories of empathy. A review of these theories shows that, despite the fact that one version of the simulation theory can avoid a number of problems associated with such approaches, there are further reasons to doubt whether simulation actually explains empathy. A high-level simulation account of empathy, distinguished from the simulation theory of mindreading, can avoid problems associated with low-level (neural) simulationist accounts; but it fails to adequately address two other problems: the diversity problem and the starting problem. It is argued that a narrative approach to empathy obviates all these problems and offers a more parsimonious account.

Type
Research Article
Information
Science in Context , Volume 25 , Issue 3: The Varieties of Empathy in Science, Art, and History , September 2012 , pp. 355 - 381
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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