Empathy

What truly defines us as humans? What sets us apart from other species? Not our physical strength, nor our intelligence.

It is our social abilities—our capacity to form groups of many individuals—that have led the human species to eventually dominate the Earth.

Empathy is our ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

It is what moves us when we read about the lives of others. It is what angers us when we witness injustice.

But empathy, like all things related to the brain, must be nurtured and developed.

Only recently have we gained a global perspective of the world we live in.

That we share the same planet.

That we are all one human species.

Yet we still resist accepting the facts about the environment.

Yet we still look away when faced with tragic news of wars or genocides around the world.

If we lose empathy, what remains of us as humans?

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