Posted on Brain Blogger …but with spelling corrections and added thoughts
http://brainblogger.com/2010/02/09/i-feel-your-pain-the-neural-basis-of-empathy/#comment-597971
Its interesting that the level of empathy we have for each other might have its roots within our sensori-motor mirror neurons…i.e we have to see ( be within sensory reach) to feel anothers pain.That ability is like ‘ line of sight’ WiFi synapsing between different brains….as effective as if they were really hard wired .
That would be useful because we would’nt be able to compete if we empathised with the competition ( over the hill and out of sight….or mass Media air-brushed ).
Maybe the action of group dance could synchronise a tribe to de-sychronise & overcome the mirror neurons temporarily when we go spears in hand, face to face, to kill fellow humans in another tribe.That synchronicity duality would be Media based today.
We co-operate to compete.So somewhere along the line…our ability to empathise must be able to be suspendable , so that we can indeed do terrible things to fellow humans …as that is what we have evolved to do .
I think we have rituals/memes that do this .Dances..music…media ..dis-information…I believe we pro-actively need to suspend ‘ the humanity ‘ we inherently perceive in others , who are to be the object of our terror..so that we can inflict productive amounts of terror upon that other set of individuals .In essence ..a short cut around our mirror neurons.
Its a horrible thing to say in words….but I’m struck by how we always have a need to de-humanise people first ..before we can efficiently co-operate to commit the very evil we declare ourselves to be fighting.
Is Religion such a short-cut ? A steering comittee for mirror neurons that can promotes group self -empathy but can productively short-cut and suspend the ‘empathy ‘neurons.
Spirituality would be the opposite end ( the side that tips the scales towards more empathy and fewer short -cuts /work arounds the mirror neurons).
I still believe religion begins from close proximity living..but here is the mechanism that could propagate it.
