Passion Struck with John R. Miles Bruce Miller & Virginia Sturm on Why the Social Brain Holds the Key to Our Humanity | EP 658
Sep 2, 2025
Renowned neuroscientists Bruce Miller and Virginia Sturm from UCSF's Memory and Aging Center dive into the mysteries of the social brain. They reveal how empathy, altruism, and connection are hardwired into our brains. The duo discusses the complexities of empathy, highlighting its importance in our identities. They also explore the concept of 'mattering' in relationships and its decline due to technology. Their insights bridge the gap between neuroscience and emotional well-being, offering hope for combating loneliness and strengthening human connections.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Empathy Is A Neural System
- Empathy is a brain system with cognitive and emotional components that can be measured and studied.
- Emotional empathy is automatic and present in infants and other species while cognitive empathy adds perspective-taking.
Right Hemisphere Skills Are Silent
- The social brain largely lives in the right hemisphere which doesn't speak for itself.
- Society undervalues social intelligence because it can't self-advocate like left-hemisphere skills do.
Moral Traits Are Learnable
- Traits like fairness, courage, and openness are brain-wired and can be cultivated like other skills.
- Treating social capacities as teachable should change education and societal priorities.
