„This book presents a new interpretation of the history of civilization by looking at the empathic evolution of the human race and the profound ways it has shaped our development and will likely decide our fate as a species.
A radical new view of human nature is emerging in the biological and cognitive sciences and creating controversy in intellectual circles, the business community, and government. Recent discoveries in brain science and child development are forcing us to rethink the long-held belief that human beings are, by nature, aggressive, materialistic, utilitarian, and self-interested. The dawning realization that we are a fundamentally empathic species has profound and far-reaching consequences for society.”
With those words, Jeremy Rifkin, a well-known American economist and sociologist, introduces his most recent book, entitled “the empathic civilization”. The bestseller is about the evolution of empathy, presenting a concept which should improve the living together on earth. I know, this might sound a bit educational… but nevertheless I would like to present you some of his thoughts.
Jeremy Rifkin is convinced that we have a false view on human nature (see above: that we are by nature, aggressive, materialistic, utilitarian, and self-interested) and that we have build our civilization on that assumption. But, according to Rifkin, although those assumptions are wrong, we become the people we fancy ourselves as, meaning that we become aggressive and self-interested because we think we would be like that. However, Rifkin argues that this isn’t our core nature. In contrast, a whole range of research in neuro psychology, brain research and child development show that we are actually wired for sociability, attachment, and affection.
That might sound familiar to you, right? I’ve already pointed out that more and more scientists refuse the idea of egoistic human beings. One possible way for Rifkin to fight against the “false view on human nature” is to correct the idea of man our society has and that we should strengthen our empathy perception.
Well, concerning the idea of man I also asked myself many times: How does it influence the way we interact with others? And to what extent is our idea of man influenced by our education and our society? If you are told that everybody in this world only is egoistic and self-interested, you of course start to see the population from that point of view.
