The Age of Empathy

The Age of Empathy explains that empathy comes natural to humans, as it does to most other animals, and that we’re not wired to be selfish and violent, but kind and cooperative.

Winston Churchill once remarked, “The story of the human race is war.” Upon closer observation of human history, you will find long stretches of peacetime and harmony, while the periods of war and violence are brief.

Take, for example, the biblical account of the walls of ancient Jericho, chronicled in the Old Testament. The barrier has long been considered a structure for the defense of the city. Modern research and archaeology suggest that this might not be accurate, though. There’s evidence that indicates these walls were likely built as a fortification to protect the city from mudflows.

Our ancient ancestors were constantly at risk for extinction. They lived in small, widely dispersed communities with populations of merely a few thousand. Given this scenario, it’s likely that warfare wasn’t a common threat or concern. These hunter-gatherer ancestors were probably more like the Bushmen of Africa. In these societies, violent confrontations would likely be rare.

Have you ever noticed how contagious the act of yawning is among people? Often, the mere mention of the function is enough to elicit the response. This is known as unconscious synchrony, more commonly known as the “herd instinct.” It’s not only a term that applies to humans but is also evident in animal behavior.

To demonstrate the phenomenon among animals, research teams at Kyoto University showed video clips of yawning chimpanzees to a group of apes. It wasn’t long before the apes viewing the footage began to yawn like crazy.

Synchrony is the same survival mechanism that compels birds to flock together and fly in formation towards the same destination. Even stopping for food and rest is a coordinated activity. This ensures that everyone sticks together to survive, allowing necessary bonds to form.

Interestingly, experiments in social behavior indicate that synchrony even plays a part in the service that we receive. The findings show that a waiter can double his tips by simply repeating a customer’s order, rather than just replying with something like, “Great choice!”

Have you ever given someone a helping hand? Of course, you have, and I bet it didn’t require any special conditioning to do so. The truth is we likely wouldn’t be here if our default disposition were to be insensitive and uncompassionate to our fellow humans. Biology and history both support that we as humans have a strong sense of compassion and cooperation that tend to be an instinct for us. Consider parenting where empathy is second nature. Parents just have a natural sensitivity toward their offspring as…