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Cognition and Religious Empathy

Cognition and Religious Empathy. James A. Van Slyke. Compassion & Empathy. Compassion & empathy are an important aspect of many religious traditions Feeding the Poor Caring for the Sick Serving the disabled Empathy is feeling or sharing in the emotional states of another.

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Cognition and Religious Empathy

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  1. Cognition and Religious Empathy James A. Van Slyke

  2. Compassion & Empathy • Compassion & empathy are an important aspect of many religious traditions • Feeding the Poor • Caring for the Sick • Serving the disabled • Empathy is feeling or sharing in the emotional states of another

  3. Psychological Components of Empathy • Imitation • General Feature of Human nature • Innate mechanism • New born Infants imitate facial expressions (Metlzoff & Moore 1977) • First study (21-day-old infants • Second Study • 80 Infants • Ages: 42 minutes to 72 hours

  4. Human Imitation • Imitation may be a precursor for human language (Rizzolati & Arbib 1998) • Imitation and Desire • We often want what someone else has • Children want the toy they don’t have • Basic Principle of Marketing: • Imitation leads to desire • Don’t know what we want until we observe someone else

  5. Physiological Components of Empathy • Mirror Neurons • First located in area F5 and PF/PFG of the macaque monkey (Rizzolati et. al. 1996) • Mirror neurons are active both during observation and performance of an action • Similar mirror system present in humans (Iacoboni & Dapretto 2006) • May be basis for imitative behavior and empathy

  6. Human Mirror Neuron System • Mirror Neuron system in human brain similar to macaque • Primarily in the inferior parietal and premotor cortex

  7. Theory of Mind (ToM) • Ability to understand the intentions and goals of others • Usually develops around 3 to 4 years of Age • Often seen as a deficit in children with autism or asperger’s • May be reason for their difficulties in social behavior

  8. False Belief Task • Before age 3 or 4 children do not distinguish their perception from others • Develop ability to understand the potential for false beliefs

  9. Development ofToM • “Like Me” hypothesis (Meltzoff 2005) • Step One – Imitation • Connection between Observed and Executed Acts • Step Two – First Person Experience • Connection between acts and mental states • Step Three – Understanding Other Minds • Others “like me” have mental states “like me”

  10. Shared Intentions • Ability to engage in shared activities with a common goal • Joint intentions; shared beliefs • Understanding others as intentional agents • Children – 18 months • Observe adult performing an action • Imitate action and intention

  11. Cognitive and Emotional Processes in Empathy • Imitation • Matching different actions • Eye contact • Facial expressions • Body posture • Matching emotional states • Crying with someone • Matching someone’s mood

  12. Cognitive and Emotional Processes in Empathy • Theory of Mind • Understand reasons for emotional state • How did the person get to this point? • What is their story? • How do they perceive their current emotional state?

  13. Cognitive and Emotional Processes in Empathy • Shared Intentions • Allows for a shared emotional experience • Feeling that someone else “knows what it is like” • Expression of understanding what someone is going through

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