Empathy and Fairness

Empathy is the process that allows us to share the feelings andemotions of others, in the absence of any direct emotionalstimulation to the self. Humans can feel empathy for other peoplein a wide array of contexts: for basic emotions and sensation suchas anger, fear, sadness, joy, pain and lust as well as for morecomplex emotions such as guilt, embarrassment and love. It has beenproposed that, for most people, empathy is the process thatprevents us doing harm to others. Although empathy seems to be an automatic response of the brainto others' emotional reactions, there are circumstances underwhich we do not share the same feeling as others. Imagine,for example, that someone who does the same job as you is paidtwice as much. In this case, that person might be very satisfiedwith their extra salary, but you would not share this satisfaction.This case illustrates the ubiquitous feeling of fairness andjustice. Our sense of fairness has also become the focus of moderneconomic theories. In contrast to the prominent self-interesthypothesis of classic economy assuming that all people areexclusively motivated by their self-interest, humans are alsostrongly motivated by other-regarding preferences such as theconcern for fairness and reciprocity. The notion of fairness is notonly crucial in personal interaction with others in the context offamilies, workplace or interactions with strangers, but also guidespeople's behaviour in impersonal economic and politicaldomains. This book brings together work from a wide range of disciplinesto explain processes underlying empathy and fairness. The expertcontributors approach the topic of empathy and fairness fromdifferent viewpoints, namely those of social cognitiveneuroscience, developmental psychology, evolutionary anthropology,economics and neuropathology. The result is an interdisciplinaryand unitary framework focused on the neuronal, developmental,evolutionary and psychological basis of empathy and fairness. Withits extensive discussions and the high calibre of the participants,this important new book is essential reading for anyone with aninterest in this topic.