Empathy, Mind, and Morals

This chapter explains how the core of modern cognitive science is rooted from early philosophical theories, specifically the Theory of Mind (ToM) and moral theory. Its main focus is the subject of empathy which is a vital point in the philosophy of mind and essential to several aspects of the moral theory. It initially discusses the two approaches to the ontology of mental attribution, the rationality approach and the theory-theory. It also examines a possible third, the simulation heuristic approach. Furthermore, the chapter presents an account of the developmental stages in a child's mentalizing ability, followed by an analysis of empathy in relation to affective states and its role in prescriptive and descriptive ethics.