The concept of empathy has received much attention from philosophers and also from both cognitive and social psychologists. It has, however, been given widely conflicting definitions, with some taking it primarily as an epistemological notion and others as a social one. Recently, empathy has been closely associated with the simulationist approach to social cognition and, as such, it might be thought that the concept’s utility stands or falls with that of simulation itself. I suggest that this is a mistake. Approaching the question of what empathy is via the question of what it is for, I claim that empathy plays a distinctive epistemological role: it alone allows us to know how others feel. This is independent of the plausibility of simulationism more generally. With this in view I propose an inclusive definition of empathy, one likely consequence of which is that empathy is not a natural kind. It follows that, pace a number of empathy researchers, certain experimental paradigms tell us not about the nature of empathy but about certain ways in which empathy can be achieved. I end by briefly speculating that empathy, so conceived, may also play a distinctive social role, enabling what I term ‘transparent fellow-feeling’.

Joel Smith

Synthese

SYNTHESE 是一本哲学期刊，专注于认识论、科学哲学和相关领域的当代问题。更具体地说，我们将我们感兴趣的领域分为四类：（1）认识论、方法论和科学哲学，这些都是广泛理解的。 (2) 逻辑和数学的基础，其中“逻辑”、“数学”和“基础”都是广义的。 (3)哲学中的形式方法，包括将哲学与其他学术领域联系起来的方法。 (4) 伦理学和逻辑、数学和科学的历史和社会学问题，这些问题有助于当代研究 SYNTHESES 所关注的，如上文 (1)-(3) 所述。

SYNTHESE is a philosophy journal that focuses on contemporary issues in epistemology, philosophy of science, and related fields. We categorize our areas of interest into four groups: (1) broadly understood epistemology, methodology, and philosophy of science; (2) foundations of logic and mathematics, where 'logic', 'mathematics', and 'foundations' are understood in a broad sense; (3) formal methods in philosophy, particularly methods that connect philosophy with other academic disciplines; (4) ethical issues and the historical and sociological aspects of logic, mathematics, and science, which are significant for contemporary research in the areas of interest outlined in (1)-(3).

SYNTHESE 是一本专注于认识论、科学哲学及相关领域当代问题的哲学期刊。我们将关注的领域分为四个类别：（1）广泛理解的认识论、方法论和科学哲学；（2）逻辑和数学基础，其中“逻辑”、“数学”和“基础”均为广义概念；（3）哲学中的形式方法，尤其是将哲学与其他学科相结合的方法；（4）伦理学以及逻辑、数学和科学的历史与社会学问题，这些问题对当代研究 SYNTHESE 所关注的领域（如前述的 (1)-(3)）具有重要意义。

What is empathy for?

It is claimed that empathy plays a distinctive epistemological role: it alone allows us to know how others feel, independent of the plausibility of simulationism more generally.

Category	Quartile
哲学	1
哲学, 科学史与科学哲学	1
哲学, 哲学	1

What is empathy for?

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