Minds in motion: The theory and practice of empathy as embodied joint action towards shared goals

This article presents the enactive social empathy model (ESEM), which conceptualizes empathy along four types (from individual to social) as an embodied social process reciprocally linked with joint action undertaken through shared commitment to concordant goals. In this model, empathy is the prerequisite capacity enabling coordinated interaction, while the embodied experience of joint action dynamically refines mutual understanding. This framework integrates cognitive, affective, and sensorimotor dimensions often studied in isolation; clarifies empathy's function in cooperation; reframes empathic distress as often stemming from commitment breakdowns; and offers a pragmatic lens reconciling self/other interest. By centering interaction and commitment, this model provides a theoretically grounded and ecologically valid foundation for new empirical research using interactive methodologies and for developing more effective interventions in fields such as public health, contemplative science, education, and conflict resolution.