Cultivating Empathy: A Journey of Growth

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This chapter discusses empathy as a skill that can be developed rather than a fixed trait, emphasizing the importance of personal growth and continuous change. It introduces concepts like the 'end of history illusion' and explores strategies to enhance empathetic abilities, such as compassion meditation and storytelling. The conversation also tackles the relationship between empathy, hope, and skepticism, challenging the cultural bias that equates cynicism with wisdom.

It’s an age-old question - are people innately good or bad? Watching the news and constantly consuming social media, many of us are cynical about human nature. Psychologist Jamil Zaki suggests that we may be being fooled, that empathy is all around us - we just have to pay a little more attention. Jamil and Chris discuss the power of empathy, positive gossiping, normalizing compliments and more to help you see why the good in each of us is what makes us human.

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