Empathy and Our Contentment, Cooperation, and Compassion

Abstract

Empathy is the cornerstone of healthy relationships and the ability to navigate complex social situations. The cognitive system that produces empathy, the left ventral striatum, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, and supplemental motor area, motivates cooperation with others. Indications that empathy is on the decline should concern each individual because it is essential for our social and emotional wellbeing. Without empathy, we lose the ability to be compassionate. Empathy is many things, explaining why it can produce contradictory outcomes simultaneously. The evolutionary mandate of empathy might be the source of racial strife as well as the key to achieving racial harmony.