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Full Chapter The Development of Empathy Phenomenology Structure and Human Nature 1St Edition Zhuravlova PDF
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‘This is an in-depth, comprehensive and highly applicable book on the elusive
phenomenon of empathy, in which the authors present their original, holis-
tic general psychological concept of the development of human empathy and
its attributes. The critical points of development of the empathic personality
throughout human life are thoroughly investigated and analysed. There is no
doubt in my mind that this book will be of significant interest to both research-
ers and students, as well as to practicing psychologists, teachers, and parents – in
other words, to all those who work in this field.’
– Dr. Ephraim Suhir, IEEE, ASME, SPIE, IMAPS, Life Fellow,
Portland State University, USA
Introduction 1
Conclusions 235
Appendix A: Empathy test for younger schoolchildren 241
Appendix B: Empathy test for teenagers and adolescents 248
Appendix C: Empathy test for adults 255
Index 262
Introduction
Entering the 21st century, humanity fell into the bosom of symbolic con-
tradictions: between man and nature, between technocratic opportunities
and the ecology of the environment, a new quality of life, and a thirst for
submission and mastery. Globalization, international terrorism, local wars,
interethnic and interconfessional confrontations, the ecological crisis, and the
dynamic frenzy of the world have all marked the start of the new millennium.
Today, the problem of human morality requires broad humanistic under-
standing because it is, as never before, closely linked to the problem of the
future of humanity.
The authors of this book respond to these challenges focusing on the study
of problems of modern psychology, which studies the highest manifestations
of human psychic processes. We are convinced that focusing on human spir-
ituality, psychological maturity, authentic existential responsibility, moral-
ity, and empathy will help in solving the critical contradictions of our time.
Consideration of empathy as a complement to human nature will lead to solv-
ing the problems of environmental issues, help to grasp and experience life in
its fullness, achieve wisdom, resolve internal and external conflicts, and harmo-
nize interpersonal and interethnic relations.
The spiritual revival of civilization is impossible without the humanization
of all spheres of social life and the actual, not declarative, attitude to man as an
end in itself, as a being that embodies the infinite potentials of the human race.
In our challenging times, when society is rethinking universal concepts and
values, when a person appears as a unique individual, not a means or a thing, as
a subject, not an object, the dichotomies of good/evil, spirituality/pragmatism,
and I/the Other (she/he) gain special relevance.
At first glance, the problem of the good/evil dichotomy is purely ethical.
Indeed, for centuries, philosophers and ethicists have sought to solve it at the
scientific level (Aristotle, R. Descartes, B. Spinoza, M. Montaigne, F. Hegel,
I. Kant, L. Feuerbach, F. Nietzsche, K. Marx, M. Berdyaev, V. Solovyov,
P. Kropotkin, V. Efroimson, Y. Sogomonov, and others). However, because
the human individual is the bearer of good and evil, of moral and spiritual
development, ethics could not do without the psychological aspects of these
phenomena.
2 Introduction
In psychological studies, the problem of good and evil, existential spiritual-
ism, altruism, and selfishness are represented, mainly, in the study of moral
consciousness (R. Pavelkov, M. Savchin, M. Hoffman, L. Kohlberg), person-
ality as a subject of free moral action (I. Bech, L. Bozhovich, M. Boryshevsky,
I. Subotsky, etc.), personality as a subject of his own world (T. Titarenko),
studies of emotional maturity of the individual (O. Chebykin), processes of
self-determination, search for ego-identity (E. Erikson, I. Kohn), self-actu-
alization (A. Maslow), self-realization (K. Rogers), transcendental subject (B.
Bratus, L. Vorobyov, V. Petrovsky, V. Slobodchikov, E. Isaev, L. Rubinstein,
E. Fromm), etc.
In the recent past, these studies have often been considered abstract, philo-
sophical, and even para-idealistic or parapsychological. Empathy, transcend-
ence, faith, soul, spirituality, and the universe became the first links in this
chain. Over the last decade, psychologists are increasingly choosing empathy as
the subject of study (V. Boiko, T. Vasilyshyn, I. Kogan, V. Krotenko, K. Los,
O. Oryshchenko, T. Fedotyuk, I. Yusupov, M.N. Davis, N. Eisenberg, M.
Hoffman, E. Troitskaya).
Thus, the problem of empathy, its place in the system of values, and the
structure of moral consciousness and personality in general, began to enthuse
not only expert philosophers of ethics, but psychologists as well. There are
numerous studies in which empathy is seen as a condition for the develop-
ment of moral consciousness (L. Bozhovich, T. Konnikova, D. Bech) and
the mechanism of prosocial behavior (T. Gavrilova, A. Solomatina, etc.) and
human self-transcendence (V. Petrovsky, K. Rogers), that is a determinant of
its assertiveness (L. Zhuravlova). Insight into another person’s state of mind,
understanding of their inner world, empathy, and compassion are prerequisites
for the formation of a tolerant, humanistic, and active personality. However, in
spite of its rather long history (the problem of empathy has been studied in the
last century within the framework of the philosophical disciplines), research
in this area remains fragmented and contradictory and does not have a single
integrated theory.
In our view, considering empathy from a psychological perspective as a
systemic hierarchical formation that determines both asocial and prosocial
behaviors will help to find the solution for the array of social and personality
problems. Research of empathic processes in evolutionary (the functioning and
interrelation of instincts of the struggle for existence and mutual assistance and
communication in the animal world), ontogenetic (peculiarities and patterns
of empathic development at different age stages, its conditions and factors),
personal (place of empathy), sociocultural (family role, teacher empathy in the
child’s empathic development, empathy and success in professional activity),
and existentially spiritual (transfinite empathy) plans allow the opportunity to
consider the personality, the self, identity, life, and professional self-determina-
tion based on the presence of certain forms of empathy (sympathy, compassion,
sharing the joy of another, altruism, indifference, sadism, etc.). The state of
development of human empathy is determined, first of all, by its orientation on
Introduction 3
another person and intention to build empathic relationship with that person, a
high level of which implies sensitivity to the inner world of another person, the
formation of altruistic qualities of the individual, and his readiness for appro-
priate behavior. Consideration of the object of empathy as a function of the
subject’s empathy and the empathogenic situation makes it possible to optimize
the educational process and to develop new methods of education, through
which it would be possible to constructively implement the subject–subject
interaction of a teacher and a student.
Knowledge of the mechanisms of developing empathy, its individual-psy-
chological correlation, and its gender characteristics allow society to control
the moral development of an individual, to help harmonize life and profes-
sional self-determination, interpersonal relationships, and to humanize social
relations in general.
The importance and lack of elaboration on these aspects of empathy is the
general focus of our work on the study of the process of empathic development
of the individual as a special way of mastering his own life and the totality of his
inner and outer worlds, in the latter of which the dominant position is more
humanistic.
The authors do not claim to resolve all empathy issues. Some of these issues
do not have clear answers. As with all eternal matters, they are relevant at all
times. However, there are times when these issues come up with particular
urgency. In our opinion, such a period has come. We hope that the proposed
theory of empathy will help solve some of the problems of modern humanity.
1 Theoretical and methodological
principles of empathy research
The study of empathy is one of the hottest topics in psychological science. The dis-
cord in the definition of its essence, mechanisms, functions, and the role of empathy
in the moral development of the personality, prosocial behavior, altruism, etc., only
proves the scientific community’s confusion on that elusive phenomenon. The
accumulated material requires certain systematization, generalization, and editing.
A retrospective view on the problem of empathy and analysis of its modern
study made it possible to state the absence of a complete, consistent theory of
empathy. Most modern researchers use it for applied purposes (Batson, 2011;
Kayris, 2002; Kovalenko, 2005; Hoffman, 2000; Shpak, 2016; Slote, 2010).
However, without a relatively clear theory of empathy, it is truly complicated
to develop theories of personality and interpersonal relationships, to understand the
essence of a human as a social being, a self-determining subject, and transcendental
individuality. The conceptualization of empathy should help solve the main task
of psychology, which is, according to modern psychologists (Taylor et al., 2004),
not so much describing the subjective reality of man’s inner world, but researching
and understanding the relationship between his world and the outer world of the
individual’s existence, which together form a person’s integral life world.
In the next section, we will attempt to describe a complete concept of
empathy. Empathy is seen as a specific reflection of objective reality, one form
of which is the inner world of another person. A comprehensive combina-
tion of the principles of explanatory (natural) and descriptive (humanitarian)
psychology should determine its nature, genesis, and its role in the human
comprehension of its generic essence.
1.1. Historical overview, current status, and future of
empathy research
In psychology, T.P. Gavrilova (1975) made one of the first fairly thorough
historical reviews of empathy.
Researchers are faced with the task to create a theory of empathy, to pen-
etrate into its nature, to analyze the function of empathy in human life, to
study the genesis of empathy and the conditions of its formation.
(Gavrilova, 1975, p. 156)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003145370-1
Principles of empathy research 5
In recent years, empathy studies have been supplemented by review utiliz-
ing a person-centered approach (Gippenreiter et al., 1993), in the context of
sociopsychology (Davis, 2019; Zhuravlova and Hrechuha, 2018; Zhuravlova
and Shpak, 2015; Vygovskaya, 1996) and as a phenomenon of psychologi-
cal help (Ilyin, 2013; Karyagina and Ivanova, 2013). However, more than
40 years after the publication of T.P. Gavrilova’s work, the problem of mak-
ing holistic models of a complex mental phenomenon, including empathy,
remains relevant. This is despite all attempts to create a holistic concept of the
phenomenology of empathy (Davis, 2019; Hoffman, 2000; Yusupov, 1997).
We will supplement the mentioned reviews, systematize different approaches
to solving the problem of empathy, and outline some prospects for its further
research.
The word “empathy” comes from the Greek “pathos”, which means a deep,
strong, sensitive feeling (perception) close to suffering. The prefix “em” means
directed (aimed) inward. The concept of empathy is mentioned by stoic phi-
losophers. By “empathy”, stoic philosophy understands the objective spiritual
unity of all things, through which people have sympathy for each other.
However, serious research on empathy was not started until the 19th cen-
tury with the rise of the philosophical disciplines of ethics and aesthetics. Ethics
called this concept sympathy, compassion (Smith, 1995; Spencer, 1998; Stern,
1922; Wilson, 1975), aesthetes called it empathy (einfühlung) (Lipps, 1907).
Many ethicists of the 19th century believed that sympathy is an innate human
property. A. Smith defined sympathy as the ability to empathize with others,
“a feeling excited in us by the suffering of another person” (Smith, 1995, p.
18). The philosopher calls the mechanism of sympathy imagination, although,
in fact, empathy equals the mechanism of projection, as A. Smith believes that
“our feelings cannot present us anything except what is within us” (Smith,
1995, p. 16).
According to A. Schopenhauer (1992), people’s sympathy for each other is
based on their sense of common nature and origin. He considered identifica-
tion as a mechanism of empathy: in the process of compassion, a person, over-
coming his selfishness, identifies himself with others, makes their experiences
his own, and seeks to stop the suffering of others, which brings him satisfaction
and happiness.
G. Spencer (1998) tried to consider the development of sympathy from
evolutionary and cultural-historical points of view. He showed its role in the
struggle for existence in nature and society and argued that as social forms
become more complex, the content of sympathy also becomes more complex.
He defines instinctive (emotional contagion) and intellectual (compassionate)
sympathy.
The founder of philosophical anthropology, German philosopher Max
Scheler, in his work, The Content and Forms of Sympathy, deepened and
extended the differentiation of sympathy, which he regarded as a specific emo-
tional form of human cognition (Scheler, 1926). The scientist developed a clas-
sification of forms of sympathy from the lowest (succession, empathy) to the
6 Principles of empathy research
highest (compassion and sympathy) up to the cosmic sensation. He believed
that the ability to empathize and sympathize is of great importance for the
individual’s spiritual development because the act of sympathy represents the
potential capabilities of the human being from the lowest level (vegetative)
to the highest (spiritual). Sympathy is the basis of love. The phenomenologist
identified three main stages in the development of love focused on certain val-
ues: love for goodness, love for the highest achievements of culture, and love
for the sacred, which may require complete self-denial (holy love).
Eventually, the concept of empathy began to be used as a tool, a method of
cognition, to comprehend artwork. It was believed that empathy is indispensa-
ble in describing the aesthetic experience. It helps, in particular, to separate aes-
thetic experience from the mere study of visual and associative factors, through
which it becomes possible to describe and, in a certain sense, to understand the
work of art.
In 1906, German art scholar Wilhelm Worringer wrote a dissertation that
later was published as a separate book under the title Abstraction and Empathy
(Abstraktion und Einfühlung). In addition to the aesthetic and psychological sub-
stantiation of the development path of contemporary art, he also considered the
relationship between the two most important psychological concepts, abstrac-
tion, and empathy. Two varieties of creative evolution (classical naturalism
and abstractionism), which Worringer stated opposed each other, are directly
reflected in the human psyche in the form of two antagonistic impulses: empa-
thy and abstraction. The scientist called empathy the projection of the feeling
of life onto the space of the picture (Worringer, 1979).
Summing up the philosophical studies of empathy, we may distinguish three
aspects. It is considered as:
The ideas of sympathy and empathy were introduced into the plane of psycho-
logical analysis by T. Lipps (1907). The German philosopher and psycholo-
gist has given a theoretical basis of the concept of “einfühlung”, translated by
Edward Titchener into English as “empathy”. T. Lipps began with the study of
aesthetic empathy, but in his latest works he also tried to explain the nature and
mechanisms of empathic interaction between people. He considered empathy
as a specific type of cognition of the essence of an object or subject. He often
acted as an extreme subjectivist: “The people I know are only embodied mul-
tiplication of my own ‘self’” (Lipps, 1907, p. 178). Thus, the subject is aware of
itself and its experiences through the content of an object or subject, project-
ing its “self” into it. So empathy, according to T. Lipps, operates through the
mechanism of projection.
In modern psychology, empathy and its equivalents empathic experi-
ence, compassion, and sympathy are studied by various psychological schools
Principles of empathy research 7
associated with studying interpersonal interaction, psychotherapy, communi-
cation, personality development, and its interaction in various activities.
Behaviorists and non-behaviorists see empathy as the result of social learn-
ing. The subject can empathize only if there are reactions in his experience to
a similar stimulus reaction. Within the behavioral approach framework of the
instinctive origin of sympathy (McDougall, 1916) and the conditioned reflex
nature of empathic reactions (Allport, 1924) emerged.
Representatives of the dispositional theory of personality consider the
empathy of the subject as a factor of its complicity and behavior to help other
people.
In gestalt therapy, the identification between training group participants is
actualized to strengthen their empathy. Gestalt psychologists use empathy for
patients to better understand their experiences.
In psychoanalytic theories, compassion toward the patient is studied as a nec-
essary tool of confrontation with another person’s mental life. Freud’s (2009)
Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious (1905) contains the earliest definition
of empathy: we take into account the patient’s mental state, place ourselves in
this state, and try to understand it by comparing it with our own. Z. Freud’s
follower, H. Kohut (2000), in his psychology of the self (self-psychology), was
one of the first to describe empathy as a process and method of psychotherapy
and psychology.
Empathy is most deeply and comprehensively studied within the framework
of humanistic psychology. It is used as an integral element of psychotherapeu-
tic and pedagogical interaction and as a condition for constructive personality
changes and personal growth and spiritual development.
In humanistic psychology, empathic listening is used to understand the state
of mind, the “phenomenological field” (Rogers, 1987) of another person.
Empathic listening is based on a person’s ability to understand the interlocutor
in experiencing compassion for him. Initially, empathy was proposed by 19th-
century German philosopher and psychologist, founder of descriptive (cogni-
tive, humanitarian) psychology, W. Dilthey (1996), as a basic method to study
the spirit in the sciences and then to understand the spiritual life of man. Later,
K. Rogers described, justified, and used empathic listening in his psychothera-
peutic practice to communicate with and understand his client (Rogers, 1994).
Summarizing the views on empathy in various psychological theories, we
may state that empathy is considered an important factor in the individual’s
moral development (Hoffman, 2000; Krotenko, 2001; Smirnova, 1994; Vallon,
1967). It is also considered an effective tool for revealing and assimilating the
inner nature of moral relations and ethical norms (Bech, 2006; Oleksyk, 1994;
Slote, 2007; Valantinas, 1988). Empathy assists in developing humane relation-
ships and an altruistic style of behavior (Batson, 2011; Slote, 2010; Solomatina,
1992; Zhuravlova and Luchkiv, 2016;). Empathic compassion plays the
role of a mediator in the act of assistance (Batson, 2011; Taylor et al., 2004;
Zhuravlyova and Senkevych, 2015). Empathy is seen as one of the tools for
limiting a person’s aggression (Freud, 1992; 2004). It is an effective method of
8 Principles of empathy research
learning and understanding the inner world of the Other (Slobodchikov and
Isaev, 1995). And, finally, empathy is a necessary condition for the develop-
ment of personality (Vygovskaya, 1994; Fromm, 1990; Kohut, 2003; Rogers,
1994), its emotional maturity (Chebykin, 1992; 1996; 1999), and interpersonal
mutual understanding (Filatov, 1991; Ilyin, 2013; Kogan, 2005).
In recent decades, with the development of psychological anthropology and
humanitarian psychology, the subjective approach to the study of personality
and the growing popularity of the humanistic paradigm, the number of empa-
thy studies has increased significantly. It is valued by specialists of socionomic
professions in general (Sannikova, 1995), psychotherapists (Karyagina and
Ivanova, 2013; Rogers, 1994) and, in particular, physicians (Vasilkova, 1999;
Pavlyuk, 2007; Garden, 2009; Khademalhosseini et al., 2014; Neumann et al.,
2009), teachers (Karpova and Kopteva, 2019; Kovalenko, 2005; Malitskaya,
1995; Rzaeva, 2010; Vasylyshyna, 1994), academics (Polunina, 2002), practical
psychologists (Yatsenko, 1996), and others.
It is regarded as an important factor of socialization (Avdeeva and
Meshcheryakova, 1991; Ryabovol, 2007), sociopsychological adaptation, and
social adaptability (Sannikova et al., 2003) in the context of biological condi-
tions of development (Liberska, 2020). Its neurophysiological mechanisms are
actively studied (Batson, 2009; Preston and de Waal, 2002; Ruby and Decety,
2004; Oberman et al., 2007).
A non-standard view of empathy was proposed by the Russian researcher
V.V. Boiko (1996). According to Boiko, it serves as a manipulative mecha-
nism to influence a partner in the needed direction. Through empathy and
compassion, the subject of empathy “breaks” the protective energy “screen”
of the communication partner and thus discovers, understands, and anticipates
his individual characteristics, which he uses for personal purposes. V.V. Boiko
sees empathy as “a form of rational-emotional-intuitive reflection of another
person, which allows [him] to overcome his psychological protection and to
understand the causes and consequences of self-manifestations – properties,
states, reactions – in order to predict and adequately influence his behavior”
(Boiko, 1996, p. 117). At the same time, the scientist believes that if there is a
sincere interest in another person, deep empathy may exist.
Interpreting the essence of empathy, six main tendencies can be distin-
guished. The empathy may be considered as:
Different views exist regarding the forms and types of empathy. The following
forms of empathy are distinguished:
•• empathy and compassion (Allport, 1924; Asch, 1952; Gavrilova, 1977;
Krotenko, 2001; Stotland, 1978; Strelkova, 1987; Valantinas, 1988;
Vallon, 1967);
-- active and passive (McDougall, 1916);
-- reflective and personal (Gavrilova, 1977);
-- congruent (Gippenreiter et al., 1993).
There are four types of empathy (Obozov, 1990; Petrovsky and Platonov,
1976; Reich, 2007; Sopikov, 1977):
•• emotive;
•• cognitive (predictive);
•• behavioral (active, volitional);
•• social.
There is no single view on the genesis of empathy and its mechanisms. Analysis
of the relevant literature showed several approaches to explaining the nature
of empathy:
Considering the problem of empathy’s nature and its development, one can-
not ignore this phenomenon’s mechanisms. This problem is even more com-
plicated than the definition of the very concept of empathy since a variety of
interpretations of the meaning of the same mechanisms have been added to the
numerous interpretations of this phenomenon.
Some researchers considered the mechanism of empathy an emotional
contagion or succession (McDougall, 1916; Press and Piaget, 1975; Sullivan,
1953; Vallon, 1967). Other psychologists shared G. Allport’s criticism of W.
McDaugall’s ideas about emotional contagion as the primary mechanism of
sympathy (Asch, 1952). They assumed that the social situation requires more
complex forms of response from a person than succession or contagion since a
Principles of empathy research 11
person is faced with the task of understanding the experience of other people.
So G. Allport (cited by Asch, 1952), not denying the presence of the mecha-
nism of contagion, introduced a conditioned reflex amendment that allows
one to raise the question of a child’s social learning of sympathy by achieving
similarities between the experience of the subject and the object.
A number of psychologists consider identification as the main mechanism
of empathy (Avdeeva, 1975; Fromm, 1990; Parygin, 1971; Stolin, 1983).
In psychoanalysis, empathy is also connected with the idea of identification:
“From identification, the path leads us through imitation to empathy, i.e., to
the understanding [of] the mechanism due to which it is generally possible for
us to come into contact with the spiritual life of another person” (Freud, 2004,
p. 54).
Considering that the identification in the process of empathy acts as a unity
of projection and introjection, N.I. Sardzhveladze (1978) describes them, along
with emotional contagion, as mechanisms of the empathic process.
According to T.P. Gavrilova (1975), mechanisms of empathy are emotional
contagions at the lower levels (in young children) and partial or complete
identification at the higher levels with the consideration of a certain formed
“self” of a person. In her later works, the emergence of empathy is explained
by the mechanism of emotional decentration (Gavrilova, 1980). G.M. Breslav
also considers emotional decentration as the initial moment of empathy and
compassion (Breslav, 1990).
M.L. Hoffman (1978) summarizes data accumulated in developmental psy-
chology on forming the ability to empathize and concludes that emotional
arousal in an empathogenic situation may rest on different processes: the reac-
tion of classical conditioning, compassion through motoric imitation, and the
idea of how a person should feel in the situation of someone in need.
Thus, in the studies of empathy, there is no unity in relation to its
mechanisms.
To date, a significant number of studies have been carried out to identify
the conditions and factors that affect the origin and features of the empathic
process. First, this is a group of factors associated with:
These personal factors that affect a person’s empathy were added by Russian
psychologist I.M. Yusupov (1993). Unlike K. Jung, he argues that introverts
are more prone to empathy than extroverts. Egocentrism, anxiety, aggression,
depression, neuroticism, and appropriate personal sets (for example, avoidance
of unnecessary contact, unacceptability to show curiosity toward another per-
son, calm treatment of other people’s experiences and problems) all hinder
the formation and manifestation of empathy. A.P. Vasilkova (1999) character-
izes highly empathetic individuals as soft, friendly, sociable, emotional, highly
intelligent, and low empathetic are characterized as emotionally stunted and
unfriendly.
The next group of factors that affect the subject’s empathy is the features of
an emotional or empathogenic situation (intensity of the stimulus that causes
empathy: pain, tears, etc.) (Murphy, 1937; Strelkova, 1987). Among the fac-
tors that determine the features of the empathy represented by the subject are
relevant characteristics of the object of empathy, such as its personality features,
psychological and social distance to the subject, frequency of communication,
and degree of similarity (Alekseeva, 1984; Murphy, 1937).
Social factors are also an important issue. L. Murphy (1937) studied the
influence social groups with children have on the development of a baby’s
empathy. I.M. Yusupov (1993), having studied some demographic factors,
showed that, in his opinion, only socialization of adolescents in the city makes
the development of empathy possible, while their socialization in country areas
inhibits empathy greatly.
From this brief overview, a varied picture of opinions, hypotheses, and
approaches to solving the problem of empathy emerges. Obviously, such a
variety is due to multiple reasons. The main constraint here is the lack of a sin-
gle, sufficiently convincing theory. One cannot but agree with A.A. Bodalev
and T.R. Kashtanova that
the introduction of such a theory would allow [us] to integrate all the facts
obtained and, at the same time would make it possible to more purpose-
fully and productively search for new characteristics of empathy and pat-
terns of its development and formation, and therefore more effectively use
the knowledge of this phenomenon for applied purposes.
(Bodalev and Kashtanova, 1975, p. 12)
the essence of the case is not just to describe, state any similarities or dif-
ferences in human and animal behavior, but to explain the reasons for its
existence, to consider the processes that ensure or determine its existence.
This is the essence of the evolutionary approach. We too often use the
word “preconditions” thoughtlessly (for example, biological preconditions
of speech, etc.), forgetting that it is insufficient to indicate that something
similar exists in animals. It is important to understand how that “some-
thing” in the process of evolution has led to the emergence of specifically
human behavioral traits. It is also not enough to say that some trait distin-
guishes man from animal; it is necessary to show why and how this trait
became characteristic.
(Krementsov, 1989, p. 27)
The evolutionary approach within our subject of research requires the deter-
mination of conditions and the ability of the psyche at a certain stage of its
development to reflect the experiences of other living beings. To do this, phy-
logeny has to form an set for the emotional perception of another subject and,
as a consequence, for the perception of his emotional state. This is possible only
at the sensory stage of mental development.
We may assume that increasing complexity in the development of the psy-
che during the evolution process up to the sensory-perceptual level became
an external factor in the emergence of empathy in living beings. Thus, at
the sensory-perceptual stage, the psyche has acquired the ability to reflect the
subjective states of other individuals (Vilyunas, 1986). As a result, the state of
another being became a significant stimulus for living organisms.
The emergence of imprinting in vertebrates is probably a prerequisite for
the development of their empathic sensitivity. For the first time in phylogeny,
stimuli-orienting instinctive behavior, the purpose of which is the attachment to
the subject, is engraved postnatally (during the individual’s life). And although
it is not the state of the subject that is imprinted, but only certain external key
stimuli, the evolutionary development of the reaction to the inherited imprint-
ing of the image of the subject of attachment could serve as a prerequisite for
the psyche of one individual to reflect the mental state of another. According
to V.K. Vilyunas, the process of imprinting is to display new properties of the
object (Vilyunas, 1990). It is clear that such properties may be the emotional
states of the subject of attachment, not just his external traits.
16 Principles of empathy research
Thus, animals develop emotional resonance and the ability to respond to
signals that reflect other individuals’ emotional states. Emotional resonance
makes the reflected experience motivationally significant for the subject.
Due to the processes described above, animals, especially herd animals,
formed a need for emotional contact, and the instinct for mutual assistance
along with physiological mechanisms of empathy emerged. The work of P.V.
Simonov et al. (1976), who believes that the central gray matter of the brain is
a physiological substrate of compassion, only confirms our reasoning.
The ability of a highly organized psyche to influence emotions can be con-
sidered as an internal factor in the genesis of empathy. Modern psychology has
accumulated a lot of empirical data that show the influence of an individual’s
emotional sensitivity to the perception of the emotional situation and his reac-
tion to it. Emotional sensitivity determines the psyche’s sensitivity to the per-
ception of another’s emotional state. At the heart of such sensitivity to another
individual, his focus, and concern are certain properties of the nervous system.
The features of the highly organized psyche just mentioned are prerequisites
for the emergence of empathy in phylogeny.
As for the genesis of empathy in Homo sapiens, its determination is much
more complicated. Along with emotional sensitivity, hominids have such a
general precondition for the emergence of human empathy, a sense of “ances-
tral” community with other fellow tribesmen. The internal determination of
behavior, mental processes, and mental development are supplemented by
external factors that mediate these processes. Myths, social norms, traditions,
and cults, depending on the axiological orientation, contribute to the emer-
gence, formation, and development of human empathy or inhibit these pro-
cesses. Thus, the system of biological determinants of the genesis of Homo
sapiens’ empathy was supplemented by sociocultural determinants.
Nowadays, an increasing number of scientists are moving away from simpli-
fication in the interpretation of biological and social determinants of the inter-
action of mental phenomena, personality development, and human behavior.
Concepts of successive change in biological and social issues and theories of
two factors (acting in parallel or interacting) are replaced by the development
of theoretical models of “systemic determination” and “change of determi-
nation” (Lomov, 1984). In different circumstances and at different stages of
mental development, the ratio and function of sociobiological determinants
changes. Thus, if one or another social event is a factor in certain human
actions in a particular situation, its biological features can act as a factor, a pre-
requisite, or link that mediates these actions. In other situations, the structure
of determination may be different.
It is important to realize that the social system is always complex and
dynamic. It consists of many subsystems, different forms, and types of social
relations. The biological system also includes different types of living organiza-
tion: organismic, population-species, biocoenotic, and biospheric (Vernadsky,
2001). It follows that mental development at different stages (steps) is associ-
ated with a change in the system of factors. That greatly hinders the analysis
Principles of empathy research 17
of psyche development determination and the empathy of living beings, in
particular.
Investigating the system of empathy genesis determinants, it is necessary
to identify its external and internal factors, general and specific prerequisites,
and links that mediate the process of the emergence of empathic sensitivity.
In addition, the system of genesis determinants of this phenomenon in higher
animals and in Homo sapiens may differ.
The study of human evolutionary history by Charles Darwin, P.O.
Kropotkin, V.P. Ephroimson, and others gave us sound facts about the evolu-
tionary genetic basis of altruism in Homo sapiens. However, it is mainly homi-
nids, sensitive to a fellow tribesman’s emotional state, that may exercise mutual
assistance and altruism. Thus, evolutionary selection left not only the strong-
est but also the most empathetic. Here we may indicate the simplest level of
empathy development and natural empathy, based on direct sensory reflection
of another individual’s emotional state.
The biological evolution of man is inseparable from cultural evolution. A
primitive culture of hominids, which contributed to the regression of instinc-
tive behaviors, the development of its plasticity, and the complication of
associative connections in the brain emerged before the emergence of Homo
sapiens. Individuals develop sensitivity and emotionality, increasing the ability
to experience, and hence to empathize.
After the emergence of Homo sapiens, culture became dominant in empa-
thy development. Emotional life, mediated by a developed intellect and the
achievements of spiritual culture, complicates man’s inner world and experi-
ences. Empathy becomes more selective and may evolve to a higher level:
personal, mediated by cognition.
The ontogenetic development of higher forms of empathy (personalized-
meaning and transfinite) (Zhuravlyova, 2008) is determined by cultural-his-
torical and subcultural factors of human socialization and by the value and
significance given to empathic qualities by society, in general, and subcultures
to which man belongs, in particular. Depending on the social sanctioning or
denunciation of empathic behavior and the ideological, ethical, and political
systems prevailing in society, the personal and social value of empathy as a
human quality is determined.
The study of archaic communities has shown that even prehistoric man
faced existential contradictions: the dichotomies of life and death, good and
evil, truth and illusion, and self and non-self. In our study, the greatest interest
is in humanity’s attempts to solve the last dichotomy, self and non-self. The
desire for interpenetration, merging with another person, and the inability to
achieve this in the absolute is reflected in myths (the myth of Androgynes),
religion (the trinity), and the humanities (problems of I and You, I and It, dia-
logic consciousness in the humanities and psychology). We may assume that
highly developed empathy (transcendent, transfinite, spiritual) is able to help
merge the “two consciousnesses”, to comprehend deep experiences and the
natural essence (self, nature, soul) of each other.
18 Principles of empathy research
Due to the fact that the essence of man is not only bio-socio-cultural, but
also spiritual, existential, and transcendental (Frankl, 1990; Fromm, 1990;
Slobodchikov, 1994), the genesis of such a phenomenon should be investi-
gated not only in evolutionary and sociocultural aspects but in the existential
and spiritual aspects as well.
Our understanding of transfinite empathy is close to E. Fromm’s view on
such types of “humanized experiences” as compassion and empathy:
"On the 22nd Sir Robert Hart received a despatch from the
Tsung-li-Yamên. They naïvely remarked that it was now one
month since they had heard from him, and his silence gave them
concern for his welfare. Moreover, a report had just reached them
that his house had been burned, but they expressed the hope
that he and al his staff were well. Another despatch requested
his advice upon a Customs question that had arisen in
Shanghai. Sir Robert Hart wrote a dignified reply. For more
than a month, he said, he had been a refugee in the British
Legation with all his staff, having had to flee from his house
without warning; that all Customs records and papers, and
every paper and letter of value that he had accumulated during
a lifetime, had been destroyed; that not only his house, but
some 19 other buildings in the occupation of his staff had
been burned with all their contents; that the acting postal
secretary had been killed by a shell, and two other members of
his staff—Mr. Richardson and Mr. Macoun—had been wounded by
bullets. …
London Times,
October 13 and 15, 1900.
"On the 26th of June Major Gen. Adna R Chaffee, U. S. V., was
appointed to the command of the American forces in China. He
embarked from San Francisco on the 1st of July, reached
Nagasaki on the 24th, and Taku, China, on the 28th. … On
reaching Nagasaki he received the following instructions,
dated, … July 19: 'Secretary War directs that you proceed at
once with transport Grant, Sixth Cavalry, and Marines to Taku,
China, and take command of American land forces, which will be
an independent command known as the China relief expedition.
You will find there the Ninth and Fourteenth Infantry, one
battery of the Fifth Artillery, and one battalion of Marines.
Sumner sailed from San Francisco July 17 with Second Battalion
of Fifteenth Infantry and recruits to capacity of vessel.
{129}
Reinforcements will follow to make your force in the immediate
future up to 5,000, and very soon to 10,000. … Reports now
indicate that American Minister with all the legation have
been destroyed in Pekin. Chinese representative here, however,
insists to the contrary, and there is, therefore, a hope which
you will not lose sight of until certainty is absolute. It is
the desire of this Government to maintain its relations of
friendship with the part of Chinese people and Chinese
officials not concerned in outrages on Americans. Among these
we consider Li Hung Chang, just appointed viceroy of Chili.
You will to the extent of your power aid the Government of
China, or any part thereof, in repressing such outrages and in
rescuing Americans, and in protecting American citizens and
interests, and wherever Chinese Government fails to render
such protection you will do all in your power to supply it.
Confer freely with commanders of other national forces, act
concurrently with them, and seek entire harmony of action
along the lines of similar purpose and interest. There
should be full and free conference as to operations before
they are entered upon. You are at liberty to agree with them
from time to time as to a common official direction of the
various forces in their combined operations, preserving,
however, the integrity of your own American division, ready to
be used as a separate and complete organization. Much must be
left to your wise discretion and that of the admiral. At all
times report fully and freely to this Department your wants
and views. The President has to-day appointed you
major-general of volunteers.' …
"In the meantime the Ninth Infantry, from Manila, reached Taku
on the 6th of July. Two battalions of that regiment, under
Colonel Liscum, pressed forward to Tientsin, reaching that
point on the 11th, and on the 13th took part with the British,
French, and Japanese forces in an attack upon the southwest
part of the walled city of Tientsin, which had been rendered
necessary by the persistent shelling of the foreign quarters,
outside of the walls, on the part of the Chinese troops
occupying the city. Colonel Liscum's command formed part of a
brigade under General Dorward, of the British army, and was
assigned to the duty of protecting the flank of the allied
forces. In the performance of that duty it maintained a
position under heavy fire for fifteen hours, with a loss of 18
killed and 77 wounded. Among the killed was the gallant
Colonel Liscum, who thus ended an honorable service of nearly
forty years, commencing in the ranks of the First Vermont
Infantry at the outbreak of the civil war, and distinguished
by unvarying courage, fidelity, and high character. The
regiment was withdrawn from its position on the night of the
13th, and on the morning of the 14th the native city was
captured, and the southeast quarter was assigned to the
American forces for police and protection. …
"At the time of the capture of Tientsin the most positive and
circumstantial accounts of the massacre of all the ministers
and members of the legations in Pekin, coming apparently from
Chinese sources, had been published, and were almost
universally believed. The general view taken by the civilized
world of the duty to be performed in China was not that the
living representatives of the Western powers in Pekin were to
be rescued, but that their murder was to be avenged and their
murderers punished. In the performance of that duty time and
rapidity of movement were not especially important. The
resolution of the commanders of the allied forces,
communicated by Admiral Kempff on the 8th of July, to the
effect that 80,000 men would be required—20,000 to hold the
position from Taku to Tientsin and 60,000 to march to Pekin,
while not more than 40,800 troops were expected to have
arrived by the middle of August, practically abandoned all
expectation of rescuing the ministers and members of the
legations alive, for it proposed that after the middle of
August any forward movement should be still deferred until
40,000 more troops had arrived. On the 11th of July, however,
the American Secretary of State secured, through the Chinese
minister at Washington, the forwarding of a dispatch in the
State Department cipher to the American minister at Pekin, and
on the 20th of July, pursuant to the same arrangement, an
answer in cipher was received from Minister Conger, as
follows: 'For one month we have been besieged in British
legation under continued shot and shell from Chinese troops.
Quick relief only can prevent general massacre.' This dispatch
from Mr. Conger was the first communication received by any
Western power from any representative in Pekin for about a
month, and although it was at first received in Europe with
some incredulity, it presented a situation which plainly
called for the urgency of a relief expedition rather than for
perfection of preparation. It was made the basis of urgent
pressure for an immediate movement upon Pekin, without waiting
for the accumulation of the large force previously proposed."
{130}
{131}
"The 14th being the day decided upon for the concentration on
the line 7 miles from Tong-Chow, I made no preparations for
carrying on any operations beyond a small reconnaissance by a
troop of cavalry to my front, which duty I assigned to Captain
Cabell. … My cavalry had been absent not more than an hour,
when Mr. Lowry, the interpreter who had accompanied it, raced
back and informed me that Captain Cabell was surrounded by
Chinese cavalry. I immediately ordered a battalion of the
Fourteenth Infantry to fall in, and we went forward about a
mile and a half and found Captain Cabell occupying some
houses, firing from the roofs on a village in his front. I
insisted on the French troops giving me the road, which they
reluctantly did. Having joined Cabell, I continued the
reconnaissance to my front, wishing to get as near the wall of
the city as I could, but not expecting to move my whole force,
which was contrary to the agreement at Tong-Chow on the
evening of August 12. Without serious opposition we arrived at
the northeast corner of the Chinese city, having brushed away
some Chinese troops or 'Boxers' that fired from villages to
our left and front. About 10 o'clock I saw the advantage of
holding the ground that I had obtained, and directed all my
force to move forward, as I had then become aware of Russian
troops being in action on my right, and could also hear the
Japanese artillery farther to the right. My left flank at this
time was uncovered, except by a small force of British
cavalry. The British troops did not advance from Tong-Chow
until the 14th, owing to the agreement previously referred to.
On that day they marched for the line of concentration and
found my force advancing on Pekin. At noon a British battery
was at work a mile to my left and rear.
{132}
"During the 15th and the attack upon the gates referred to our
losses were 2 enlisted men killed and 4 wounded, Ninth
Infantry; 3 enlisted men killed and 14 wounded, Fourteenth
Infantry; 1 enlisted man, Battery F, Fifth Artillery, wounded.
At 8.50 o'clock a. m. of this date Captain Henry J. Reilly,
Fifth Artillery, was struck in the mouth and almost instantly
killed when standing at my left elbow observing the effect of
a shot from one of his guns by his side.