Empatia

by Christian Keysers, Łukasz Kwiatek (Translator)

The discovery of mirror neurons caused unparalleled excitement amongst scientists. The Empathic Brain makes you share this excitement. Its vivid descriptions of experiments make it a captivating read. Through intellectually rigorous but powerfully accessible prose, Prof. Keysers makes us realize just how deeply this discovery changes our understanding of human nature.

Genres: Psychology, Science, Nonfiction, Neuroscience, Brain

351 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Andrew Marr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I see the current research on mirror neurons to be one of the most important contemporary scientific endeavors if not the most important. What we are learning from mirror neurons is that there is a physiological, neurological basis for the connectedness between humans (and between other primates though to a less extent). Iaccaboni's book "Mirror Neurons" is a fine introduction. This book is a very good follow-up with more recent research and reflections. The title caused me to fear the book might be overly optimistic about how mirror neurons make us "good" through empathy, but Keysers is much wiser than that and he clearly shows how we can use mirror neurons to be good but also can use them for nefarious purposes, or simply distance ourselves when we really wish to be insensitive. For a blog post where I discuss spiritual and moral dimensions of mirror neurons see http://bit.ly/13wazdu. All devoted readers know, to our dismay, that misprints are more frequent than they once were since publishers skimp on human proofreaders. This book, however, deserves to be nominated for the booby prize in this regard.

[Urszula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written very simple explanation of the possible neurobiological basis of empathy. The main focus is of course, on what mirror neurons could be, how they function, and what functionality in the brain they're connected with. The author also discusses how this relates to humans developing a language, and later a morality. The main focus is, of course on empathy - its development, gender differences, role in the development of ethics, and how we use it. A nice, quick read.

[Salih Özel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modern toplum inşası, dillerin gelişimi, empati kurma ve kolektif iş birlikteliği gibi konuların gizemine farklı bir perspektif sunan bir kitap. İnsanı diğer canlılardan ayıran ve belki de en önemli özelliğimiz olan empati algısını nörobilimsel açıdan inceleyebiliyorsunuz. 1990lı yıllarda tesadüf eseri bulunan ayna nöronlar belki de insanlık tarihinin en büyük keşiflerinden biridir. Ayna nöronların hayatımızdaki etkisinin farkına varmak heyecan verici.

[LRKK · Rating 3 out of 5]

A self-published, inadequately referenced, rather odd book that, nonetheless, summarizes the mirror neuron research rather well, and makes some interesting additions. Marred by a confusion between empathy, emotional contagion, and compassion.

[Batusahin4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subject is amazing, writing skills are poor.

[Fulya · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a very qualified review , so fluent and joyful

[Kerem Cankocak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ayna nöronlarının keşfi 20. yüzyıldaki en önemli bilimsel keşiflerden biri. Ahlakın ortaya çıkışı da dahil, empatiden bilince kadar bir çok fenomenden beynimizdeki ayna nöronlarının evrimine bağlı.