THE COMPASSIONATE INSTINCT
THE COMPASSIONATE INSTINCT
The Science of Human Goodness
Edited by Dacher Keltner, Jason Marsh, and Jeremy Adam Smith
W. W. NORTON & COMPANY New York • London
Copyright © 2010 by The Greater Good Science Center
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The compassionate instinct: the science of human goodness / edited by Dacher Keltner, Jason Marsh, and Jeremy Adam Smith.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-0-393-07685-1 (e-book)
1. Helping behavior. 2. Compassion. 3. Interpersonal relations. 4. Altruism.
I. Keltner, Dacher. II. Marsh, Jason. III. Smith, Jeremy
Adam, 1970–
BF637.H4C65 2010
155.2’32—dc22
2009022521
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110
W. W. Norton & Company Ltd.
Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T 3QT
TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SUPPORTED
GREATER GOOD MAGAZINE—
READERS, CONTRIBUTORS, AND DONORS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THIS BOOK CONTAINS some of the best essays from Greater Good magazine (www.greatergoodmag.org), which for five years has flourished due to the hard work of hundreds of people, from staff and volunteers to writers and editorial board members.
Special thanks to Jill Suttie, our volunteer book review editor, and Alfonso Jaramillo, our design editor. We extend our most profound gratitude to everyone who has contributed to Greater Good—and to our dedicated readers and donors—even if space limitations prevent us from thanking each by name.
We would like to express special gratitude to Thomas and Ruth Ann Hornaday and the Herb Alpert Foundation, whose combined support made Greater Good possible. Thanks also to Maria Guarnaschelli, the editor at W. W. Norton who championed and helped shape The Compassionate Instinct.
The three editors would also like to thank our wives—Mollie McNeil, Meredith Milet, and Olli Doo—for their patience and support.
CONTENTS
Contributors
PART ONE: THE SCIENTIFIC ROOTS OF HUMAN GOODNESS
Introduction
The Compassionate Instinct
Dacher Keltner
The Evolution of Empathy
Frans B. M. de Waal
Peace among Primates
Robert M. Sapolsky
Hope on the Battlefield
Dave Grossman
Political Primates
Christopher Boehm
The Forgiveness Instinct
Michael E. McCullough
The New Science of Forgiveness
Everett L. Worthington Jr.
Brain Trust
Michael Kosfeld
Pay It Forward
Robert A. Emmons
Wired to Be Inspired
Jonathan Haidt
PART TWO: HOW TO CULTIVATE GOODNESS IN RELATIONSHIPS WITH FRIENDS, FAMILY, COWORKERS, AND NEIGHBORS
Introduction
Feeling Like Partners
Philip A. Cowan, Carolyn Pape Cowan, and Neera Mehta
Love, Honor, and Thank
Jess Alberts and Angela Trethewey
Stumbling toward Gratitude
Catherine Price
The Choice to Forgive
Fred Luskin
Compassion across Cubicles
Jill Suttie
Are You a Jerk at Work?
Robert I. Sutton
A Feeling for Fiction
Keith Oatley
A Different View
Alfie Kohn
Can I Trust You? A Conversation between Paul Ekman and His Daughter Eve
Jason Marsh
Hot to Help
Daniel Goleman
PART THREE: HOW TO CULTIVATE GOODNESS IN SOCIETY AND POLITICS
Introduction
We Are All Bystanders
Dacher Keltner and Jason Marsh
The Cost of Apathy: An Interview with Robert Reich
Jason Marsh
The Activism Cure
Meredith Maran
America’s Trust Fall
Jeremy Adam Smith and Pamela Paxton
The Power Paradox
Dacher Keltner