Front cover image for The moral dimensions of empathy : limits and applications in ethical theory and practice

The moral dimensions of empathy : limits and applications in ethical theory and practice

Julinna C. Oxley (Author)
Does empathy help us to be moral? The author argues that empathy is often instrumental to meeting the demands of morality as defined by various ethical theories. This multi-faceted work links psychological research on empathy with ethical theory and contemporary trends in moral education
eBook, English, 2011
Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2011
1 online resource (219 pages)
9780230347809, 0230347800
767502966
Cover; Half-Title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgments; Part I Why Empathy?; 1 The Empathy-Morality Connection; 1.1 Empathy and ethics; 1.2 Defining empathy; 1.3 Moral dimensions of empathy; 2 What is Empathy?; 2.1 Empathy as emotional contagion; 2.2 Empathy as imaginative perspective-taking; 2.2.2 Self-focused imagination; 2.2.3 Other-focused imagination; 2.2.4 Dual-perspective imagination (combination mode); 2.3 From imaginative perspective-taking to empathy; 2.4 A functional account of empathy; 2.5 Conclusion; Part II The Moral Dimensions of Empathy. 3 The Epistemic Functions of Empathy3.1 Illustration of the epistemic and normative dimensions of empathy; 3.2 Modes of empathic arousal; 3.3 Empathy's epistemic functions; 3.3.1 First function: Gathering information about the other person; 3.3.2 Second function: Understanding others; 3.4 Conditions on empathy's epistemic function; 3.5 Normative and epistemic functions limit each other; 3.6 The personal nature of empathetic knowledge; 3.7 Conclusion; 4 Empathy, Altruism and Normative Ethics; 4.1 Empirical research on the consequences of empathy; 4.2 Interpretation of the empirical data. 4.3 Problems with using this research in normative ethics4.4 Empathy and moral obligation; 4.5 Conclusion; Part III Empathy and Ethical Theory; 5 Empathy and Moral Deliberation; 5.1 The salience effect, empathetic deliberation, and moral deliberation; 5.2 Empathetic moral deliberation in contemporary normative ethics; 5.3 Empathetic moral deliberation in Kant's impartialist ethics; 5.4 Empathetic bias and empathetic deliberation; 5.5 Empathetic deliberation is not just hypothetical deliberation; 5.6 Conclusion; 6 Empathy, Contractual Ethics, and Justification. 6.1 Contract theories and public justification6.2 The elements of social contract theory; 6.3 The nature of contractual deliberation; 6.4 Kinds of empathetic deliberation modeled in social contracts; 6.4.1 Rawls' theory of justice; 6.4.2 Gauthier's contractarian ethics; 6.4.3 Harsanyi's equiprobability model; 6.5 Empathetic deliberation, public justification and interpersonal justification; 6.6 Empathy and justificatory reasons; 6.7 Conclusion; Part IV Practical Implications; 7 Empathy and Moral Education; 7.1 Teachable types of empathy; 7.1.1 Others-focused empathy. 7.1.2 Self-focused empathy7.1.4 Non-perspective-taking empathy; 7.1.5 Avoiding passive empathy; 7.2 How empathy is taught; 7.2.1 Induction or inductive discipline; 7.2.2 Rational, straightforward education; 7.2.3 Modeling empathy; 7.3 The contexts for teaching empathy; 7.3.1 Empathy in the context of care and concern; 7.3.2 Empathy in the context of the compassionate virtues; 7.3.3 Empathy in the context of diversity and multiculturalism; 7.3.4 Empathy in the context of socialization and behavior modification; 7.4 Developing the capacity for empathy
7.4.1 Factors contributing to empathy development