Re: [TCS] What is empathy

Le 13/12/2012 23:46, David Deutsch a écrit :
>
> On 13 Dec 2012, at 10:17, Jean Dutertre <jean_dutertre-1tsiiZ//[email protected] 
> <mailto:jean_dutertre%40orange.fr>> wrote:
>
> > empathy is a matter of mirror neurons (see Giacomo Rizzolatti and/or
> > Vilayanur Ramachandran)
>
> But not just mirror neurons, right? (I mean, presumably mirror neurons 
> in vitro would neither experience nor cause any empathy.)
>
> So, empathy is a matter of mirror neurons plus -- what?
>
> -- David Deutsch
>
Of course mirror neurons (as any other neuron) « experience » nothing 
out of a living brain. BTW, "red" "green" or "blue" cones in the retina 
experience no qualia out of the visual areas of the brain (around thirty 
different areas).

Now a critic in a museum would be allowed to discourse upon painted 
colours without any competence in brain visual areas (as far as he's own 
above said areas are not destroyed after a vascular cerebral accident) 
but (and this was my point) should a psychologist discuss empathy 
without considering its neurologic starting point? Psychology has been 
discussed during centuries (especially XIXth and XXth century) without 
even knowing what exactly was within the skull.

Ref : Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (1857-1952) quoted about mindedness 
"for all the difference it seems to make, our skulls could be stuffed 
with cotton batten."

>
> 



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