Compassion

Abstract

This chapter presents compassion as an emotion evolved to promote nurturance and cooperation. What does an evolutionary approach bring to the understanding of compassion? An evolutionary approach brings particular questions to the fore, including the origins and functions of compassion, which then lead directly to questions about the antecedents and situations in which compassion occurs, the biological structures and mental processes by which compassion emerges, the behavioral expression and outcomes of compassion, and the degree to which compassion is universal or variable across cultures. The authors review research on these questions while also providing an update of their predictions and model of compassion.