Not Caring: Sociopaths and the Suffering of Others
Not Caring: Sociopaths and the Suffering of Others
The chapter addresses empathic concern as the basis for altruistic concern. The author carefully delineates, but also links, the notions of sympathy and empathy and considers the thesis that psychopaths’ lack of sympathy might be due to a lack of empathy. There might be something more deeply different about psychopaths. It is considered that they cannot really participate in moral life because other persons are bound to see them from an objective point of view, i.e. not as moral agents. Hence there are only shaky grounds for assuming moral responsibility of psychopaths.
Keywords: Empathy, Caring for others, moral responsibility, psychopaths, sociopaths, emphatic concern, altruism, Peter Strawson
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