Intercultural competence and the role of empathy

Abstract

Research studies in neuroscience have shown that individuality and inter-subjectivity are not antithetical and that all cognitive phenomena are also emotional and affective. Emotions control the mind, and not vice versa. These research studies are of educational and social significance, especially in light of the development of multicultural societies and the worrying rise of racism and xenophobic tendencies. The article focuses on the issue of intercultural
competence and in particular on the urgent need to educate people to adopt an
authentic emphatic attitude when encountering others. Having determined the concepts of intercultural competence and empathy, the author goes on to outline some interculturally oriented educational perspectives.