The Effect of Empathy on Happiness in Social Networks: An Agent-Based Simulation Study

The ethics of reciprocity, also known as the Golden Rule, can be found in the moral frameworks of most major religions. The concept pertains to treating others as you wish to be treated; furthermore, that belief is often taken for granted and is rarely investigated beyond qualitative studies. This paper aims to act as a steppingstone to computational rigor application as a means of testing the moral expertise of common religious beliefs. If an agent-based model can model such concepts, that may open the door to obtaining objective measures of correctness for certain philosophical beliefs. This paper presents an agent-based model to test the concept of the Golden Rule and whether it might be correct in its intention to promote happiness and wellness. Generally, the results of our model support that showing more empathy via application of the Golden Rule leads to greater happiness for individuals in a social network.