사회적 인지와 도덕성 - 도덕성의 필요조건으로 거울 신경세포와 감정이입 -

Abstract

Humans are social animals. The progress of our society and technology are based on our capacity for social learning. Social learning and skilled social interactions rest upon our capacity to gain insights into the mind of others. Humans are indeed excellent at understanding the inner life of others. This is exemplified in our inner experience of watching a drama. We can effortlessly understand emotions and motivations to the main character simply by witnessing the actions of the character, and the events that occur to him. Recently we have demonstrated that mirror neurons is the neural basis of this capacity to understand the inner life of others. Owing to the discovery of mirror neurons, we can understand a vast range of phenomenons of empathy(Social emotions; Social cognition). Empathy is influencing altruistic behavior and moral principle. Empathy consist of taking the perspective of an other person, that is, imaginatively assuming one or more of the other person's mental states. Such perspective taking might be instigated by observing that person's situation and behavior or by simply being told about them, as when one see a drama. Empathy is a genuine and fairly pervasive facet of human life. Empirical investigation of empathy is related to motivational factors in ethics. Empathy(sympathy) is the source of moral principles and the ultimate root of compliance with such principles. Much of ethical theory has focused on the human capacity for reason. But empathy seems to be a prime mechanism that disposes us toward altruistic behavior. Thus ethics needs to be sensitive to the phenomenon of empathy. The impact that this phenomenon should have on ethics depends on specific properties of empathy, properties which are firmly identified and established through neurobiological research. Thus this paper will inquire into what the phenomenon of empathy mean in ethics.