Homo-Empathicus: How We Belong to Each Other. ~ Kathryn Ashworth {video}

This video is evidence that the most civilized thing a person can do is be empathetic, and that current forms of technology are serving to bridge our natural inclination to connect across culture. It may change the way you see social networking platforms, your iPhone, etc.. It may even change the way you see yourself:

“We are actually soft-wired for sociability, affection, companionship, and the first drive is to…belong.”

“Empathy is the opposite of Utopia. There is no empathy in heaven, I can tell you before you get there. There isn’t any empathy in heaven because there’s no mortality. There’s no empathy in utopia because there’s no suffering. Empathy is grounded in the acknowledgement of death and the celebration of life and rooting for each other to flourish and be. It’s based on our frailty and imperfections. So when we are talking about building an empathetic civilization we are not talking about utopia, we are talking about the ability of humanity to show solidarity not only with each other but with our fellow creatures who have a one and only life on this planet. We are homo-empathicus.”

No matter the heights of the individual and the empire we desire to construct out of ourselves alone, the inner drive to connect, beyond walls of separation, will always overcome.

It’s the basic mechanics and biology of humanity.

ORIGINAL: Elephant Journal

Via Kathryn Ashworth

Dec 17, 2013