There are many reasons for scholars to investigate empathy.
Empathy plays a crucial role in human social interaction at all
stages of life; it is thought to help motivate positive social
behavior, inhibit aggression, and provide the affective and
motivational bases for moral development; it is a necessary
component of psychotherapy and patient-physician interactions.
This volume covers a wide range of topics in empathy theory,
research, and applications, helping to integrate perspectives as
varied as anthropology and neuroscience. In recent decades,
empathy research has blossomed into a vibrant and
multidisciplinary field of study. The social neuroscience
approach to the subject is premised on the idea that studying
empathy at multiple levels (biological, cognitive, and social)
will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of how other
people's thoughts and feelings can affect our own thoughts,
feelings, and behavior. This collection of essays by a group of
distinguished social neuroscientists provides the