The social neuroscience of empathy in the theatre of global ethics

Abstract

Part of an ongoing exploration of the ethics of representation and spectatorship in theatre addressing global issues, this article examines how theatre depicting 'strangers' may activate our empathy. Rooting the discussion in Jovanni Sy's 2010 site-specific play A Taste of Empire in Toronto, the author draws on new research in the field of social neuroscience to explore how theatre is attempting to bridge what J. D. Trout calls 'the empathy gap': the gap between empathetic relationships in small, community groups and empathetic relationships between strangers at a global scale. While the discovery of the 'mirror neuron' system might make a case for the human capacity for empathy at larger scales, other research suggests a range of factors mitigate empathy, at least providing cause for scepticism.