Public Lecture Abstract

Tuesday, October 07, 2008 • 7:30 PM • James A. Little Theater, New Mexico School for the Deaf

Frans B. M. de Waal Living Links, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Psychology Department, Emory University

Our Inner Ape: On the Possibility of Empathy in Other Animals

De Waal explores expressions of empathy in animals, especially nonhuman primates, and presents a "Russian doll" model of how animals perceive others. It comes from a core emotional linkage arising from a direct mapping of another's behavioral state onto the subject's representations. This “Perception-Action Model” provides the basis for an increasing distinction between self and other, so that the other is recognized as the source of felt emotions. This permits responses to be geared more specifically to the other's situation, increasing the effectiveness of sympathetic support, care, and reassurance. At the highest level, the other's perspective, situation, and intentions are fully appreciated. He argues that such responses have great survival value in cooperative animals—including humans.