Problem: I remember a patient saying humans are exceptional because we can be kind, selfless, and virtuous unlike other animals. And I've been thinking about that, and honestly after watching the videos for this module, I think it's a lot messier than that. We're capable of incredible prosocial behavior, but I'm not convinced it's purely selfless every time. First, is empathy a product of nature or nurture? I'd argue it's both, and the video Why Some People Are More Altruistic Than Others (n.d.) really made that understandable. The speaker talked about how highly altruistic people, like kidney donors who give to strangers, actually have enlarged amygdalae and heightened sensitivity to others' fear and distress. That suggests there's a biological, hardwired component, some people are literally born with a brain that reacts more intensely to seeing someone else in pain. But on the nurture side, the Aggression vs. Altruism Crash Course video (2014) showed how the Robbers Cave experiment turned competitive, hostile groups into cooperative teams just by giving them shared goals. That tells me environment and social structure can either cultivate or crush empathy. Our worldview shapes our capacity for empathy, too. The Why Moral People Tolerate Immoral Behavior video (n.d.) explained that we tend to forgive moral transgressions by people in our in-group way more easily than by outsiders. Need Assignment Help?