Understand others: compassion and the theory of mind

Understand what others are planning, think and feel: Without empathy and empathy, togetherness would be impossible. Not everyone is equally good at neuronal skills. But only through them do we become social beings.

  • The ability to understand plans and intentions (Theory of Mind) and empathize with emotions is an important social characteristic of human beings.
  • Even small children show evidence of these abilities, but presumably they develop gradually in the course of brain development and education.
  • The ability to theory and empathy can indiv >

emotions

“Emotions” are neuroscientists who understand psychic processes that are triggered by external stimuli and which result in a willingness to act. Emotions arise in the limbic system, an ancient part of the brain in terms of tribal history. The psychologist Paul Ekman has defined six cross-cultural basic emotions that are reflected in characteristic facial expressions: joy, anger, fear, surprise, grief and disgust.

empathy

The term “empathy” goes back to the ancient Greek word for “passion”. Today empathy is understood as the ability to put oneself in others and to understand their feelings, thoughts and actions. Many neuroscientists see the physiological basis for this in the mirror neurons: nerve cells that are as active when observing an action as when executing it.

island flap

The island lobe is a recessed part of the cortex (cerebral cortex) that is covered by frontal, temporal and parietal lobes. This overlay is called the opercula (lid). The insula has an influence on the motor skills and sensory functions of the intestines and is considered a connection between cognitive and emotional elements in pain processing.

mirror neurons

Nerve cells in the brain of primates that fire just as much when their owners observe an action as when they perform it themselves. In the early 1990s, Italian researchers came across these special neurons when experimenting with macaques. Later, mirror neurons were also detected in the human brain. Here they can be found in the Broca area, which is responsible for language processing. The mirror neurons could provide an explanation of why we are able to understand the feelings and intentions of others. The discussion is not yet over.

Just one and a half years little Lisa is old. When she runs, she is still extremely shaky on her feet, and speaking is still not working properly. And the environment regularly amazes them. This young man too, who has two boxes on the floor in front of him and puts a small caterpillar made of plush in one of them before leaving the room. It gets even stranger when a woman secretly places the soft toy in the other box. She wants to play a trick on the man, she says, and closes both boxes tightly. Then the man is back, goes to the box in which he put his toy and tries in vain to open it. A strange scenario. But also one in which little Lisa can show what she is made of: When asked to help the man, the little girl willingly runs away. Without hesitation she works on the other box – knowing that the coveted toy is hidden there. And not where the owner suspects.

Empathy as an important social skill

Being able to anticipate the thoughts of others and to draw conclusions from them about their plans, plans and intentions is an important social skill. It is called Theory of Mind and is an essential prerequisite for a conflict-free and cooperative relationship. Theory of Mind (Interactive Graphics)

ToM describes – as scientists like to say – the ability to put yourself in the mind of a fellow human being, empathy is the analogue for the emotional experience. In other words, the ability not only to infer others’ feelings, but also to be able to empathize with them. Together, Theory of Mind and Empathy form the basis for all concepts of humanity, sympathy, compassion, or the Christian term of love for one’s neighbor. Even the economist Adam Smith, one of the founders of classical economics, wrote in his book "Theory of Ethical Feelings" that a society without compassion is unthinkable, because without it no lasting relationships could develop.

Both skills seem to be firmly anchored in humans. Infants cry when other children cry and let their parents’ laughter infect them. And already at the age of one and a half to three years, the theory of mind seems to develop in small children, as the experiment by scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology from Leipzig in 2009 shows – although it is difficult to examine the young test subjects. After all, the little ones can usually not yet express themselves in a too differentiated way about their world of thought.

This works better in adults, so most studies on Theory of Mind and Empathy are devoted to the somewhat older semesters. With imaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, which makes the different activity of brain areas recognizable via the oxygen content of the blood, and unusual experimental arrangements, researchers try to trace the basics of our social behavior. They show their subjects, for example, pictures of laughing or crying people, alternately give couples light electric shocks or observe how the subjects react to characters from computer games. The results of such experiments are sometimes astonishing.

empathy

The term “empathy” goes back to the ancient Greek word for “passion”. Today empathy is understood as the ability to put oneself in others and to understand their feelings, thoughts and actions. Many neuroscientists see the physiological basis for this in the mirror neurons: nerve cells that are as active when observing an action as when executing it.

Psychopaths lack empathy

For example, there seem to be people who can very well put themselves in the way of others, who are charming, who know exactly what their counterpart wants to hear – but who are completely lacking in empathy and who therefore do not consider the feelings of others. We’re talking about psychopaths. And, if you believe the researchers, there are more of them than previously thought: Many probably live undetected among us. Because not always a psychopath becomes violent or criminal. Sometimes her lack of empathy is even conducive to her career, so that you can also find her on executive floors.

On the other hand, there seem to be diseases that lead to an increased theory-of-mind ability. Schizophrenia patients, for example, are often characterized by excessive empathy and do not feel only with People with, but in extreme cases also with trees or stones. And depressed people seem to be particularly sensitive to the suffering of others, so they are particularly empathetic. In general, however, the following applies: whether and how strongly we react empathetically to someone is individually different – and depends on experience and upbringing. This is how real masters of empathy can develop. Specialists in empathy

empathy

The term “empathy” goes back to the ancient Greek word for “passion”. Today empathy is understood as the ability to put oneself in others and to understand their feelings, thoughts and actions. Many neuroscientists see the physiological basis for this in the mirror neurons: nerve cells that are as active when observing an action as when executing it.

empathy

The term “empathy” goes back to the ancient Greek word for “passion”. Today empathy is understood as the ability to put oneself in others and to understand their feelings, thoughts and actions. Many neuroscientists see the physiological basis for this in the mirror neurons: nerve cells that are as active when observing an action as when executing it.

RELATED ITEMS

Like this post? Please share to your friends:
Christina Cherry
Leave a Reply

;-) :| :x :twisted: :smile: :shock: :sad: :roll: :razz: :oops: :o :mrgreen: :lol: :idea: :grin: :evil: :cry: :cool: :arrow: :???: :?: :!: