Living in a culture without capital punishment can physically strengthen human empathy circuits
Living in a society that has abolished capital punishment can physically alter the brain, resulting in empathy circuits that respond significantly stronger to the emotions and suffering of others.
Neuroethical research using fMRI scans has revealed that individuals living in cultures without the death penalty exhibit empathy circuits that are 30 percent more active. This suggests that judicial norms can physically reshape human neural pathways over time.
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