The Science of Creating a Compassionate World

We're fans of the Greater Good Science Center, which is based at the University of California, Berkeley, and is dedicated to fostering a compassionate society using scientific research into the psychology, sociology and neuroscience of well-being.

Recently they've featured a series of articles, essays and videos about compassion, and I wanted to share a couple links with you.

In "Global Compassion" psychologist Paul Ekman and the Dalai Lama discuss how to move the world to greater global compassion. Here are a couple of excerpts:

Dalai Lama:

"The first step is to appreciate really and deeply the pros and cons, the benefits and the disadvantages of narrow-mindedness, nationalism, tribalism, provincialism, whatever it is, as opposed to a global consciousness, a unity of humanity. How do we do this on a global scale? Here it becomes very important to reflect deeply upon the interconnected nature of the modern economy, and how environmentally our fates are all intertwined.

"On a global level, we need to have a deeper appreciation of how many of the conflicts and problems that we face today are really the consequence of an inadequate appreciation of the global dimension, and that this is the result of narrow-mindedness, of one form or another."

Ekman:

"...I think it is a serious problem to confront, how we share the world’s resources equitably when we have an inequitable situation to begin with, and a very powerful nation that is benefiting from the inequity. This may be a very large obstacle to achieving global compassion."

In another article, Paul Ekman outlines his "taxonomy of compassion," which includes emotion recognition, emotional resonance, familial compassion, global compassion, sentient compassion, and heroic compassion. Read the article here.

And, in the essay "The Roots of Moral Courage," Professor Kristen Renwick Monroe examines why some people "perform heroic acts of altruism and compassion" when others don't. She says,

"I found that what drove such altruists is what I call the 'altruistic perspective,' a particular way of looking at the world in which altruists see themselves as bound to others through their common humanity. Where the rest of us see a stranger, the altruist sees a fellow human being. This worldview is such a part of the altruist’s basic identity that it makes some actions—turning away from those in need, for example—simply unimaginable. It is analogous to the way we consider our options at a restaurant: It’s tough to get sushi at an Italian bistro; it’s just not on the menu. So it is with the altruistic perspective: It presents some of us with moral choices that differ significantly from the options available to others. Altruists simply have a different cognitive menu."

Compassion (actively manifested) is something I believe our world and our lives need much more of, and while some of us are satisfied with "feeling" our way to a more compassionate world, some folks operate from a place that requires more logic and scientific verification to satisfy them, so resources like those available at Greater Good are a useful find.

Add GG to your list of bookmarks.

~ Marsha

Image courtesy of cornetta via Creative Commons.

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