One last word. We all know that humans, the embodiment of empathy, will give each other electrical shocks for no other reason than someone in a white coat told them to. Very empathetic those humans. Non-human primates won't do this unless you BOTH reward them with food AND deny them food otherwise. In exchange for food normally fed non-human primates won't deliberately inflict pain on another helpless primate in a similar type of experiment. But this is no reason to believe that non-human primates can experience empathy. Only humans can do that.
[WS:] That is an important point, indeed. It suggests - in the light of the fact that the parts of brain associated with empathy are evolutionary 'early' vis a vis those responsible for 'higher' cognitive functions - that humans are probably less empathic than animals. That is to say, they are more able than other animals to "bracket out" empathic feelings and behavior motivated by them in favor of more 'rational' and 'detached' ones. Or alternatively, they can selectively empathize with some but not with others e.g. with the guy in the white coat rather than one hooked up to the electric shock machinery - or in a different setting - with the tall, blond, clean-cut, blue-eyed guy rather than shabby-looking, dark haired "untermenschen," or perhaps with cute looking animals rather than with 'less worthy' members of their own species - as aptly observed by George Orwell in his essay "Marrakech:" http://www.george-orwell.org/Marrakech/0.html
"I was feeding one of the gazelles in the public gardens.
Gazelles are almost the only animals that look good to eat when they are still alive, in fact, one can hardly look at their hindquarters without thinking of mint sauce. The gazelle I was feeding seemed to know that this thought was in my mind, for though it took the piece of bread I was holding out it obviously did not like me. It nibbled rapidly at the bread, then lowered its head and tried to butt me, then took another nibble and then butted again. Probably its idea was that if it could drive me away the bread would somehow remain hanging in mid-air.
An Arab navvy working on the path nearby lowered his heavy hoe and sidled towards us. He looked from the gazelle to the bread and from the bread to the gazelle, with a sort of quiet amazement, as though he had never seen anything quite like this before. Finally he said shyly in French:
"_I_ could eat some of that bread."
I tore off a piece and he stowed it gratefully in some secret place under his rags. This man is an employee of the Municipality."
I am not trying to moralize here, but I think that Miles, and for that matter the scores of other species-centric folk who believe that humans are 'special', 'morally superior,' have a 'soul' and the kindred mumbo-jumbo - got it all backward. Humans are unique in that they are LESS empathic than other mammals (rather than more empathic) - or at least they can control and override their empathy by 'higher' cognitive functions of their brain. This seems to be consistent with patterns observed in individuals with affective disorders, such as Asperger's Syndrome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome, characterized by high IQ but very low empathy.
If this is correct, it suggests that humans are inferior rather than superior to animals in their empathic ability, just like they are inferior in other psycho-motor and perceptual abilities.
Wojtek