Everyday Canvas

Empathy Circuit

Prompt: Neuroscientists have identified a ten-section "empathy circuit" in our brains which, if damaged, can curtail our ability to understand what others are feeling. As only psychopaths have zero empathy, which means empathy circuit in their brain is missing; do you believe science may come up some day to fix the brain circuits of those people and cure them? Or does this seem like a wishful thinking?

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Where empathy circuit in the brain is concerned, it is highly possible that it will be fixed or even replaced with a partial brain prosthesis, and I bet science has already begun working on it.

As to empathy circuit, here’s a link for those who’d like to read up on it:

http://quantum-mind.co.uk/empathy-circuit/

On the other hand, supposing such a brain circuit is fixed by a scientist or a brain surgeon in the physical sense, wouldn’t that person also need training? I think some part of empathy is also a learned one. It would be like giving someone who has never used a computer, a latest model, perfectly working laptop. That person would still need some direction or at least a few tips on using the machine.

Today, even before all brain circuits are made to function and such an advancement is made, people with perfectly working brains sometimes act like self-absorbed jerks. It is as if they are in this world only for themselves. According to statistics, in some big cities, the epidemic of narcissism is at an all-time high. There are instances of someone being bullied or beaten on a busy street while passersby just walk around the commotion. Do all those people have dulled or broken empathy circuits? I guess not. I believe this is due to their deepened egoism and the lack of the feeling of community spirit and civic responsibility.

Yes, the brain machine can be fixed, but in addition to that, we need to fix other things, too, like having people spend more time in becoming engaged in social and community activities to enhance their empathic senses.