Empathy Education Becoming More Human

Important signs of being human include the ability to feel remorse or guilt for harm one may have done to others, to feel the emotions of others, and to accurately state a viewpoint different from or opposite one’s own. The author believes humans can be educated in empathic ability and that in this way people can become more human and caring. How do you think society might be affected if empathy was taught in the home, the workplace, and in schools? Imagine a world in which everyone, children and adults, knew how to care about how others feel and what they need, want, and think. While each individual has a unique capacity for empathy, some more than others, perhaps empathy can be assisted and encouraged for those who possess some aptitude. For example, empathic development may require an awareness of one’s own emotions in order to begin to recognize and feel connected with the emotions of others. Now for the first time, we have a set of tools to actually learn empathy so that it becomes part of one’s way of relating to others. In this concise volume, the author describes ten practical exercises to enable the development of empathy and thereby aid the transformation of the self and the community. It is hoped the user will create ways to improve these approaches, and the vitality of the movement will be sustained.