Abstract

If any one thing characterizes contemporary debates on empathy, it is the amount of literature devoted purely to defining the term. The definitional disagreement is such that it has even been claimed that “there are probably nearly as many definitions of empathy as people working on the topic”. Anyone attempting to contribute to the empathy debates will know that this claim is only barely an exaggeration. “Empathy” can refer to a neural mechanism, a form of social cognition, a moral motivation, an ability, an emotion, even a type of behavior. The fundamental ambiguity that comes with this term will make Elisa Aaltola’s Varieties of Empathy a very useful resource for anyone who...