Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Introduction : why is empathy so important? / Jean Decety -- I. Philosophical and anthropological perspectives on empathy. Empathy without isomorphism: a phenomenological account / Dan Zahavi and Søren Overgaard ; Empathy, evolution, and human nature / Allan Young -- II. The contribution of social psychology. The empathy-altruism hypothesis: issues and implications / C. Daniel Batson ; It's more than skin deep: empathy and helping behavior across social groups / Stephanie Echols and Joshua Correll ; Empathy is not always as personal as you may think: the use of stereotypes in empathic accuracy / Karyn L. Lewis and Sara D. Hodges -- III. Evolutionary roots of empathy. Empathy in primates and other mammals / Frans B.M. de Waal -- IV. The development of empathy. Nature and forms of empathy in the first years of life / Sharee Light and Carolyn Zahn-Waxler ; Social-cognitive contributors to young children's empathic and prosocial behavior / Amrisha Vaish and Felix Warneken ; Relations of empathy-related responding to children's and adolescents' social competence / Nancy Eisenberg, Snjezana Huerta and Alison Edwards -- V. The neuroscience of empathy and caring. How children develop empathy: the contribution of developmental affective neuroscience / Jean Decety and Kalina J. Michalska ; Empathy and compassion: a cognitive neuroscience perspective / Abigail A. Marsh ; The cognitive neuroscience of sharing and understanding others' emotions / Jamil Zaki and Kevin Ochsner -- VI. Empathy in clinical practice. Clinical empathy in medical care / Jodi Halpern ; The costs of empathy among health professionals / Ezequiel Gleichgerrcht and Jean Decety ; The empathic response in clinical practice: antecedents and consequences / Charles R. Figley ; The paradox of teaching empathy in medical education / Johanna Shapiro ; Empathy and neuroscience: a psychoanalytic perspective / David M. Terman.