The pattern theory of compassion

Shaun Gallagher; Antonino Raffone; Salvatore M Aglioti

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2024.04.005

The pattern theory of compassion

Trends Cogn Sci. 2024 May 10:S1364-6613(24)00084-6. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.04.005. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shaun Gallagher¹, Antonino Raffone², Salvatore M Aglioti³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Philosophy, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA; School of Liberal Arts (SOLA), University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: s.gallagher@memphis.edu.
² Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
³ Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Center for Life, Nano-, and Neuroscience (CLN2S), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy.

PMID: 38734530
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.04.005

Abstract

Concepts of empathy, sympathy and compassion are often confused in a variety of literatures. This article proposes a pattern-theoretic approach to distinguishing compassion from empathy and sympathy. Drawing on psychology, Western philosophy, affective neuroscience, and contemplative science, we clarify the nature of compassion as a specific pattern of dynamically related factors that include physiological, cognitive, and affective processes, relational/intersubjective processes, and motivational/action tendencies. We also show that the dynamic nature of the compassion pattern is reflected in neuroscientific findings, as well as in compassion practice. The pattern theory of compassion allows us to make several clear distinctions between compassion, empathy, and sympathy.

Keywords: affective neuroscience; compassion; compassion training; emotion; empathy; sympathy.

Publication types

Review