The value of ethology and neurology for ethics: prosocial behavior, mirror neurons, and the evolutionary continuity of empathy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2178-6224v20i2p37-56Keywords:
Ethics, Ethology, Prosocial Behavior, Protomorality, Empathy, Anthropological model, Mirror neurons.Abstract
This paper presents the importance of ethology in improving discussions about ethics, particularly about the origins of ethics based on prosocial behaviors and animal proto-morality. Emphasis is placed on the arguments of naturalist Alexander Skutch and primatologist Frans De Waal. Moreover, the Mirror Neuron System (MNS) is presented as one of the explanatory factors of the evolutionary continuity of empathy and prosocial behavior. Along the same lines, the proposal of the negotiating man (homo negotiatus) is analyzed as a dynamic anthropological model. It concludes by pointing out the importance of ethology for ethics, emphasizing the role of MNS in empathy, and proposing that the problem of liberty and determination of ethical agents should be addressed as gradual criteria.
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