From intersubjectivity to empathy: searching for the roots of cooperation

Based on the evidences and reflections found in Human Developmental Psychology, Neuroscience, Comparative Psychology and Ethology, we argue that cooperation is understood as so fundamental in the process of evolution of species that to facilitate it, nature has equipped us with the mechanism of empathy to promote aid among organisms. We sought to show how the understanding of empathy was amplified with the uncovering of primary intersubjectivity, with the discovery of mirror neurons, and from the better understanding of the neural basis of emotion. These discoveries make it possible to understand empathy as a form of emotional-based pre-linguistic communication, whose main tools are mimicry, bio-behavioral synchrony, and emotional sharing, originated in parental care.