Reflections and Intuitions about Empathy in Animals. A Phenomenological Perspective

Authors

  • Rosa Icela Ojeda Martínez

Keywords:

Empathy, phenomenology, intuition, embodiment.

Abstract

The aim of the study presented here is to analyze empathy in animals and how it is attributed to them by humans. To achieve such a purpose, two interrelated considerations are made. First, I discuss the philosophical assumptions that have prevented us from understanding animals as mentally complex beings. Second, I take up some elements of phenomenological philosophy, in particular the approach of a co-constituting relationship between body and mind, as well as the concept of intuition and its importance for the attribution of empathy in order to understand how empathy arises and manifests. I conclude that empathy is not just in the mind, that means a particular way of being with the body, in the world and with others; in this sense, empathy might be considered a socially embedded, embodied phenomenon.

Author Biography

  • Rosa Icela Ojeda Martínez

    Doctora en Antropología. Investigadores e Investigadoras por México. CONAHCyT / Escuela de Antropología e Historia del Norte de México.

    Email: riojeda@conahcyt.mx

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Published

2022-12-20

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How to Cite

Reflections and Intuitions about Empathy in Animals. A Phenomenological Perspective. (2022). Revista Latinoamericana De Estudios Críticos Animales, 9(2). https://revistaleca.org/index.php/leca/article/view/391