Final answer:
The research of anthropologist Pat Shipman suggests that human empathy and alliances with animals, especially dogs, played a significant role in our modern understanding of empathy. Other approaches to ethics also highlight the importance of empathy and compassion in ethical behavior. Primatologist Frans de Waal argues that empathy and reciprocity are the foundation of human morality.
Step-by-step explanation:
The research of anthropologist Pat Shipman suggests that human empathy and alliances with animals, especially dogs, gave humans an evolutionary advantage over animals. Relying on animals for survival prompted humans to develop improved tools and a deep understanding of their prey. By the emergence of Homo sapiens, humans had evolved to have a sophisticated empathic understanding of animals.
Furthermore, other approaches to ethics emphasize the importance of compassion and empathy as virtues that individuals can cultivate. These moral theories recognize the ability to suffer with and share others' feelings as the basis for ethical behavior.
Moreover, Frans de Waal, a primatologist, argues that the roots of human morality can be found in social animals like primates. The feelings of empathy and expectations of reciprocity necessary for group existence may be considered the foundation of human morality.