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Empathy is a complicated emotion, even for mice. On seeing another in pain, a mouse will act as if it itself is also hurting—much more, though, if it knows the first mouse. Capuchin monkeys will help out another monkey, without any reward, but only if they're on friendly terms.
People also feel less empathy for those they dislike. But our species adds another layer of complication: We empathize more with people who are "like us" than with "them."
“We want people to walk in the shoes of someone who survived a stroke,”
At West Jefferson Medical Center’s third annual “Empathy Day,” the community was invited to rotate through activities that mimic some of the frustrations stroke victims face during recovery.
Strokes, though largely preventable, are the No. 4 cause of death in the United States, and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability.
The world seems crazy and dangerous sometimes. How can a person respond creatively and positively in the face of change and the inevitability of death?
Some thoughts about empathy and responsibility in the context of the connectedness of all life.
Tony McGregor
How do I know that I know what I know – about you? This is clearly a question about epistemology, about knowledge. But it’s a special kind of knowledge, about others.
The ability to understand what another human being is thinking or feeling is most commonly known as empathy. The word empathy comes from the German einfühlung, which literally translates as “feeling into.” For thousands of years, empathy has attracted the attention of great thinkers in many fields of study, but only recently has empathy experienced a serious comeback, signaled by the advent of social neuroscience.
Baron-Cohen’s work is ultimately an optimistic work (and potentially somewhat Pollyannish): the idea that empathy erosions and deficits can be turned around, that people can be taught to be empathic. He points out the need to seek treatments that will teach empathy to those who lack it, which he believes should reduce cruel behavior in the world. Baron-Cohen’s overarching topic is a serious one: why people are cruel to others, but his ultimate perspective is a hopeful one: that empathy can be learned, that the empathy muscle, so to speak, can be exercised. img http://bit.ly/m3hQM3
Santre Sanchez Gayle's criminal career dates back to the age of 14 but like any other London gang member, his unlawful activity will have started much earlier. Somewhere along the way, empathy -- like an underused muscle -- withered away. According to development psychologists such as Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg the age of seven marks a critical turning point in a child's moral development. It is then that children start to develop a conscience and "empathy for others"; they learn to "manage their anger" and become "more resilient and optimistic." But this moral growth can be thrown off course by trauma and broken attachments, storing up problems for society that detonate when these children become angry adolescents. Marina Cantacuzino http://theforgivenessproject.com
One question frequently asked of atheists is: Since you don't believe in God, doesn't that mean you can kill people?
This is indeed not an idle question. No one disputes the fact that the greatest mass murders in history have been performed by avowed atheists, from the killing fields of Cambodia to the man made famine in the Ukraine. I would argue that the Holocaust as well was engineered by atheists.
An additional problem is that empathy, like all emotions, may vary widely from one person to the next... He may also decide that for some reason the victim deserves to be hurt, and therefore he need feel no empathy
Bottom line: Humans, like all meat eating mammals, are naturally pretty nasty and without God everything is permitted.
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billcoffin
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Recent research suggests that today's youth has less of a capacity to empathize with their peers than any generation hence, a phenomenon some psychologists are linking to a narcissism epidemic.
In a series of studies and books, social psychologist Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me and The Narcissism Epidemic, has argued strongly that today’s younger people score considerably higher on narcissistic scales than previous generations at the same age. As causative factors, she points to three cultural trends: the rise of electronic communication, which has drastically cut down on face-to-face social interaction; increasingly violent and more sexually saturated mass media, which desensitize kids to others; and an avalanche of consumerism and materialism.
The empathy gap refers to how people who haven’t been through a painful experience have a hard time estimating just how painful it is (doctors underestimate patients’ pain; even patients underestimate how much pain they’ll experience during a future procedure).
The researchers wondered if they could change people’s opinions on the morality and acceptability of an enhanced interrogation method simply by exposing them to a mild form of it.
A study of young boys who score poorly on tests of empathy and regard for others found that they didn't register a reaction to faces exhibiting fear... Healthy children notice the fearful face faster than any other emotion. But for the others, their reaction time to fearful faces slowed in proportion to their lack of empathy. img http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear
Empathy is the bedrock of our relationships with others, says Rick Hanson. Here's how to practice it. This post’s practice—empathy—knits human beings together, and is at the heart of healthy relationships. You were born with this capability—consider that babies cry when they hear other babies cry, but not at recordings of their own crying—and you can get better at it with practice. Why? Imagine a world in which people interacted with each other like ants or fish. Imagine a day at work like this, or in your family, aware of the surface behavior of the people around you but oblivious to their inner life, while they remain unmoved by your own. That’s a world without empathy. To me, it sounds like a horror film. More at Empathy Experts: Rick Hanson http://cultureofempathy.com/References/Experts/Rick-Hanson.htm
Emotions of love and compassion give meaning and purpose to life. The brain is wired with circuitry for caring and empathic connection...
You want happiness? The best option is to grow your ability to empathically connect to your self and partner, in present moments of awareness. It’s a way of knowing, understand your self, and life around you that is connected to your compassion, and that allows you to best understand and empathically connect to your partner. Athena Staik
Lowe: I think that artists build their art around empathy. I think that liberal politics is built on empathy. I think conservative politics, from my opinion is built on-
Hannity: Common sense?
Lowe: Logic. Logic and empathy it's like left brain, right brain stuff. So I just think naturally empathetic artists are drawn to that.
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Cambridge psychology professor and leading autism expert Simon Baron-Cohen is best known for studying the theory that a key problem in autistic disorders is "mind blindness," difficulty understanding the thoughts, feelings and intentions of others.
Cambridge psychology professor and leading autism expert Simon Baron-Cohen is best known for studying the theory that a key problem in autistic disorders is "mind blindness," difficulty understanding the thoughts, feelings and intentions of others. He's also known for positing the "extreme male brain" concept of autism, which suggests that exposure to high levels of testosterone in the womb can cause the brain to focus on systematic knowledge and patterns more than on emotions and connection with others.
What do you mean when you write about "zero negative" empathy?
For some people, seeing someone else's pain is not just emotionally distressing: they feel the pain in their body too.
When we observe or imagine pain, it activates areas of the brain involved in the processing of real pain. This is called the mirror neuron system and is thought to help us to understand other people's actions and emotions. But the activation is not as strong as that caused by real pain because inhibitory mechanisms normally dampen the response.
Empathy is an attitude and more than that, it is a skill that can be used to deepen all kinds of relationships - at work and at home. It can help bosses and their people, team members, spouses and lovers, teachers, parents and children.
“...deep understanding is, I believe, the most precious gift one can give to another.” - Carl Rogers
Scientists now believe that botox not only paralyzes tiny facial muscles but also the innate human response to another's suffering: empathy.
A study published last month in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Science found that someone with a permanent poker face caused by Botox can't mirror a joyful smile or a furrowed brow -- and this mimicry, research suggests, is essential to our capacity to empathize with others. A frozen face begets frozen feelings.
This got us thinking about empathy. We can't afford to forfeit it for taut skin. It takes about 40 muscles to frown -- and we'd like to preserve every one of them.
If we can help one another bear the darkness rather than evade it, perhaps one day we will be able to see the light.
Whatever differences we may have, Rifkin and I both apprehend the critical importance of mutual empathic understanding in our current Age of Trauma. Imagine an "empathic civilization" in which the obligation to provide a relational home for the emotional pain that is inherent to the traumatizing impact of our finiteness has become a shared ethical principle. In such a society, human beings would be much more capable of living in their existential vulnerability, anxiety, and grief, rather than having to revert to destructive ideological evasions of them. In such a societal context, a new form of identity would become possible, based on owning rather than covering up our existential vulnerability. Robert D. Stolorow
A live discussion with Jason Marsh, On the Charter for Compassion facebook page. 'You can post your questions to this event's wall and Jason will post his responses on May 25th LIVE on our Discussion Tab from 7pm-8pm EST.' See the discussion archive as well. http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/author/jason_marsh/
Neurons That Mirror our Experience: The Accidental Discovery of the Roots of Empathy A group of Italian researchers in the 1990’s...
This is a very significant process that occurs between mother and baby. When a baby cries, his mommy’s mirror neurons fire and inform her of how her baby may be feeling. Mommy is better able to respond accurately to her baby’s needs. This system makes so much sense if we think about it. How convenient for our brains to respond to the experience of our child so we can understand and connect with empathy, understanding, and competence. by Mary Rotzien
According to Shane, there can be a dark side to having access to all of the suffering throughout the world, however. Empathic capacity overload quickly overwhelms the senses potentially leading to post-tragedy paralysis.
We easily become convinced that this is just another tragedy that makes us sad (like Haiti, Japan, Katrina, etc), so we shut down and decide to do nothing. Tomorrow the news will only get worse. Empathy overload!
Researcher Kristin Neff reveals the benefits of going easy on yourself: less anxiety, less conflict, and more peace of mind.
In this incredibly competitive society of ours, how many of us truly feel good about ourselves?...
When I first came across the idea of “self-compassion,” it changed my life almost immediately. It was during my last year in the human development doctoral program at the University of California, Berkeley, as I was putting the finishing touches on my dissertation. I was going through a really difficult time following the breakup of my first marriage, and I was full of shame and self-loathing. I thought signing up for meditation classes at a local Buddhist center might help. As part of my exploration, I read Sharon Salzberg’s classic book Lovingkindness and was never the same again.
Scientific American has an insightful and beautifully written article asking whether it is possible to make sense of empathy using brain scans.
Neuroscience studies are increasingly focusing on what science calls ‘high level’ concepts and what those outside the field might just call ‘vague’.
Empathy is probably not in the ‘vague’ category although it is true to say that there are several competing definitions and no standard way of measuring it.
Your presence has power. You have a built-in ability to create happiness in your life and relationships, and the quality of your presence is the substance that builds trust.
Actions that stem from being present convey a sense of connection to your self and those you love. Perhaps more importantly, presence sends a message that affirms your commitment in key relationships, energizing good feelings that cause your brains to release Oxytocin, a hormone linked to felt sense of safety, love and connection.
The world is changing—faster than ever before—from a society run by elites to one in which everyone can be a changemaker. Ashoka has come to believe that empathy is one of the most important issues of our time: the 21st Century skill fundamental to all the rest, from innovation and teamwork to leadership and changemaking. Empathy is the heart of the future of growing up.
That's why we're committing historic resources to building a world in which every child masters empathy – and in which all institutions, from elementary schools to large corporations to entire countries, integrate empathy as a core principle and practice. Ashoka imagines the day that all children will be empathic – but it will take an energetic team to make this powerful vision a reality in our time.
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