Landscape of Empathy
This drawing is an attempt to make appropriate distinctions in a complex reality around ‘empathy’. Terms that are used to point towards the distinct parts – as always – contain arbitrariness. Disclaimer Please take this with a grain of salt. The drawing is a metaphor to make some things clear while other important distinctions are Read the full article…
Will Compassion Win the Game?
Humanity stands at a crossroads, made imminent by technological developments, mainly in the domain of A.I. One can see the last 2000 years, at least, as the era of this crossroads. In two million years from now, this will probably still be seen as such. Compassion, basically, is the defining feature of this crossroads. Do Read the full article…
Compassionate versus Non-Compassionate A.I.
Making the critical distinction between Compassionate and Non-Compassionate A.I. is not evident and probably the one factor that most shapes our future. In contrast to Compassionate A.I. (C.A.I.), non-Compassionate A.I. (N.C.A.I.) lacks depth. Thus, even if human-centered – or maybe precisely then – N.C.A.I. lacks a crucial factor in properly communicating with and supporting humans Read the full article…
Following the Journey toward Self-Compassion
Lisa uses a comprehensive view of a user’s journey towards self-Compassion and Inner Growth. This progress can be non-linear and varies significantly between individuals. Nevertheless, it can be done to a significant degree. On top of gauging the user’s travels on this path, this is also interesting for monitoring Lisa’s progress as a Compassionate A.I. Read the full article…
Compassion is about the Optimal Distinction
Here is where rationality and human depth coincide. The optimal distinction validates both. This is also right at the two-sided core of the AURELIS project. Optimal order comes not by attacking ‘chaos’ but by respecting it. This is a profoundly ethical stance with consequences in many fields. Time and again, attacking ‘chaos’ is seen as Read the full article…
Compassion in Everyday Medical Care
While principally important, >Compassion, basically<, has frequently been lacking in medical care. This might essentially change in the not-so-distant future. “Finding and sustaining compassion, especially during my years as a pediatric oncologist, was an ever-renewing source of professional challenge and satisfaction. At times, it was a daily struggle. I wanted to cure everyone and could Read the full article…
Friendly — Empathic — Compassionate
The conceptual differences are seldom made explicit. Nevertheless, they are huge and crucial for the future of humanity and A.I. Many people, including in high places, don’t profoundly think about this subject and implicitly act as if the differences are unimportant. Many opportunities to do good are thus unfortunately lost. Terms and concepts As always, Read the full article…
How Compassion Leads to Motivation
Compassion changes people from the inside out as nothing else does. If you haven’t done so yet, then please read about Compassion, basically before continuing. From the inside out True motivation starts deep inside — this is, with broadly distributed mental-neuronal patterns (MNPs) acting in parallel. In Compassion, we see substantially more overlap of MNPs Read the full article…
Bringing Compassion to the World through A.I.
This is the crucial idea behind the philanthropic project of Planetarianism as part of the AURELIS project. You can find a blog about Planetarianism here and a concrete overview presentation (ppsx for laptop) here. Concretely, it’s a set of projects aiming for this blog’s title. Compassion, basically, is no rosy moonshine. There are strong traditions Read the full article…
Why Compassion is Not about Suffering (Only)
In AURELIS setting, at least, Compassion is about mental growth as much as suffering. It’s not about suffering only. See also Two-Sided Compassion Aurelian Compassion is not pity. In many cases, pity is not wanted and doesn’t form part of Compassion. Purely by itself, surface-level pity does not diminish suffering, nor does it enhance mental Read the full article…
Compassion is the Intelligent Future
The only proper future of intelligence, whether natural or artificial, is Compassionate. Why? In my view, Compassion is the only way for a total civilization to be sustainable — thus, to grow and become more intelligent. Intelligence wants more of itself. Compassion also wants more of itself. Thus, Compassionate intelligence is a powerful self-enhancing combination. Read the full article…
Passion and Compassion
Com = together. Passion as any mental happening in which feelings and thoughts are unhindered. Background art by courtesy of my good friend Gary Conway, painter of Big Sur, California. About passion Passion is the fire that burns in the bush without destroying it. Othello’s wrath was not his passion, but only the anxiety that Read the full article…
Small-Circle versus Broad-Circle Empathy
Humans are made for a local environment ― the village as our world, not the world as a village. Nature never knew we would need to empathize with the other side of the world one day. Yet there is increasingly this need. Not only to tackle global problems. Of course, these problems exist and need Read the full article…
Compassion is NOT the Surface
Compassion is profoundly challenging. It should not be confused with pity, empathy, or friendliness. Confusion concerning Compassion may lead to substantial mistakes. On top of this, the concept is vaguely used, like any profound concept. For my formalization, see Compassion, basically. Compassion is much more potent than any of the above. Compassion makes you strong! Read the full article…
Compassion Makes You Strong
This is, strong enough to enable you to care for little things and find in them a universal strength ― strong enough to tackle the world if need be. Strength of empathy As depicted in the landscape of empathy, this entails not being washed away by the emotional stream of the empathized one. Sitting in Read the full article…
Asking for a Donation
Philanthropy is about so much more than a financial transaction. It is an occasion for letting humaneness flow and flourish. This may reflect in how a fundraiser asks for a donation. Please read In-Depth Philanthropy. The intellect and the heart One may rationally conclude that the best giving is maximally based on rationality. Many people Read the full article…
One Compassion ― One World
America first ― China first ― Europe first ― Russia first ― all nonsense at first sight. ‘Compassion first’ is central to the only humane future. How do we get there from the present-day worldwide divides that seem to increase? Please note: Compassion is SO much more than pity. It is also much more than empathy Read the full article…
My Dark Side of Compassion
This personal note doesn’t mean that I’m the only one. I hope there are many and dedicate this blog to them. Am I Compassionate? I try. Let’s say it’s in me. ‘Compassion’ is not pity. At least, not in this sense of Compassion, basically. But that doesn’t mean an overlap in recognition of others’ suffering Read the full article…
How can A.I. Become Compassionate?
Since this may be the only possible human-friendly future, it’s good to know how it can be reached, at least principally. Please read Compassion, basically, The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I., and Why A.I. Must Be Compassionate. Two ways and an opposite In principle, A.I. can become Compassionate by itself, or we may guide it toward Read the full article…
Why We NEED Compassionate A.I.
It’s not just a boon. Humanity is at a stage where we desperately need the support that possibly only Compassionate A.I. can provide. This is not about the future. The need is related to the inner dissociation that we (humanoids, humans) have increasingly been stumbling into since the dawn of conscious conceptualization. That’s a long Read the full article…
Compassion is not Pity
Compassion can be seen as Eastern Enlightenment in action. The term can also be used for ‘pity,’ which is very different, giving additional insight into Compassion. Compassion with a capital C ― see Compassion, basically. Pity can be excellent. In that case, it resembles Compassion. Being touched by suffering is human. Compassion is not meant Read the full article…
The Danger of Non-Compassionate A.I.
There are many obvious issues, from killer humans to killer robots. This text is about something even more fundamental. About Compassion Please read Compassion, basically, or more blogs about Compassion. Having done so, you know the reason for the capital ‘C,’ which is what this text is mainly about. To intellectually grasp Compassion, one needs Read the full article…
Open Letter about Compassionate A.I. (C.A.I.) to Elon Musk
And to any Value-Driven Investors (VDI) in or out of worldly spotlights. This is a timely call for Compassionate A.I. (C.A.I.) Compassion and A.I. are seldom mentioned together. Yet C.A.I. may be the most crucial development in the near as well as far-away future of humanity. Please see my book about the Journey Towards Compassionate Read the full article…
Containing Compassion in A.I.
This is utterly vital to humankind ― arguably the most crucial of our still-young existence as a species. If we don’t bring this to a good end, future A.I. will remember us as an oddity. Please read first about Compassion, basically. Or even better, you might read some blogs about empathy and Compassion. Or even Read the full article…
Compassion Flows from Self-Compassion
Compassion is impossible without self-Compassion. The former is an overflow of the latter. Please read Compassion, Basically. Overlap Compassion results from an interpersonal overlap of mental patterns. This comes down to activity of mental-neuronal patterns (MNPs) in each involved brain. Through the mental overlap, the happening is also an interpersonal MNP-overlap. Thus, technically, self-Compassion and Read the full article…
Why A.I. Must Be Compassionate
This is bound to become the most critical issue in humankind’s history until now, and probably also from now on ― to be taken seriously. Not thinking about it is like driving blindfolded on a highway. If you have read my book The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I., you know much of what’s in this text. Read the full article…
Compassion is Not Easy
Compassion, not in the sense of pity or plain empathy, but what in the striving eventually points to Eastern Enlightenment. Especially important for understanding this text is knowing what I exactly mean by Compassion. Please make sure to read Compassion, Basically before going further. The mind in healthcare Compassion is crucial for psychotherapy because of Read the full article…
Can Compassion Be the Certain Future?
‘Certain’ as in what can be ascertained. Can we make the future certainly Compassionate? Please read: Compassion, Basically Versus a (non-)Compassionate future Can one presuppose that Compassion is a good goal for everyone? Many may not personally agree. So, would it be OKAY to base the whole – practically endless – future on this endeavor? Read the full article…
Can Compassion Draw Us out of Decadence?
Worldwide, people have been struggling, are struggling, and will do so even more regarding a sense of decadence. That is a bad omen for things to come, but there is a way out. Etymologically ‘Decadence’ comes from the Medieval Latin decadentia = decay. This comes from the Latin decadere = de (down) + cadere (to Read the full article…
Love is the Falling
Yes, as between a man and a woman, for instance. On the other hand, Love is also a universal quality. In this text, I write Love with a capital because of the involvement of subconceptual mental processing, for the same reason as my capitalization of ‘Compassion.’ Difference between Love and Compassion Please read Compassion, Basically. Read the full article…
Chi
Right to the core, the Chinese concept of Chi is most interesting as a specific cultural view of Compassion. I write this text with all due respect for all Asian and non-Asian people who think highly of Chi ― as I do. Note also that, historically, there have been Chinese philosophers with quite distinct conceptualizations Read the full article…
Compassion =
This text is about the externals of Compassion ― what it points to, and what it can accomplish. Please also read about the internals of Compassion: what it is, basically. Compassion is about human depth, but it is also about rationality within this depth. This leads to ancient as well as scientifically new insights and Read the full article…
What’s the Worth of Human Life?
The worth of one human life appears to lie between 2 and 2 billion €, more or less. It all depends on whose life, and I don’t get that. I’m not following. I hear it depends on where human worth is measured. That is revolting. Human life is human life. One may still call some Read the full article…
Compassion in patterns
This may be, at the same time, the deepest and the highest (tentative) view on the phenomenon of Compassion. Thinking is pattern recognition and completion. You’re spoilt today. This may be, at the same time, the deepest and the highest (tentative) view on the phenomenon of thinking. I mean ‘pattern’ at the most abstract level. Read the full article…
Real Compassion is Really Effective
Compassion is very complex. Together with a lack of understanding comes a huge underrating of its effectiveness. Where does the effectiveness come from? Subconceptual (largely non-conscious) mental processing controls the body and conscious mind ― one can say: from the inside. At this level, mental-neuronal patterns are mind and body simultaneously. Consequently: It profoundly influences Read the full article…
The Heart of Buddhism
Many Buddhists find the core of their worldview being expressed in the chanting of the Hannya Shingyo (ancient Japanese). In many Buddhist monasteries, it is chanted at least every day. You can listen to the entire (few minutes) Hannya Shingyo in this nice video. You can read a fine translation (one of many slightly different) Read the full article…
Compassion and Subconceptual Processing
Subconceptual processing is core to the concept of Compassion (with capital) which is core to the entire AURELIS project. These are complex concepts Mind the difference between complex and ‘complicated.’ The above concepts may be simply put, yet very challenging to fathom and even more to realize. Compassion, basically, brings together domains that seem pretty Read the full article…
Compassionately Strong
Compassion – or what people associate with the term – may seem weak. It isn’t. Therefore, the fear of ‘weakness’ should not deter striving to be strongly Compassionate. From the inside out Basically, Compassion is related to Inner Strength, being the primary source of any durable outer strength. Without it, anything on the outside is Read the full article…
Power of Ruthlessness
One should not underestimate this power. It is real and present. To negate or neglect it is not Compassionate. Neither is to just whine about it. Ruthlessness asks for profound answers. Etymology ‘Ruth’ comes from ‘reuthe,’ meaning ‘compassion.’ Ruthless = without pity or compassion. In AURELIS-talk, one can say it denotes a lack of Compassion. Read the full article…
The Why of Corporate Compassion
Corporate Compassion is not about pity, nor softness. Its effects are as rock-solid as a corporate building if you know how to bring it about. [see: “Compassion, basically“] Empathy in the line of Compassion Basically, Compassion goes deeper, taking into account the importance of mental-neuronal processing in any human endeavor. Thus, it is also broader, Read the full article…
How to Keep the Empathy
The COVID-era has profoundly shaken many people. This has enhanced an upsurge of interest in empathy. However, may this be a passing phenomenon? What can one do to make it more durable? About empathy [see: “Landscape of Empathy”] The term ‘empathy’ – unlike Compassion – does not necessarily relate to depth. [see: “Compassion = Empathy-Beyond“] Read the full article…
Compassion = Empathy-Beyond
The difference, conceptually, mainly denotes the importance of subconceptual mental processing. This is my use of terminology. Please look at it conceptually ― much more interesting. [see: “Conceptual Landscapes”] In any case, the two concepts have fuzzy and overlapping borders. Please also read about this other distinction: [see: “Altruism – Compassion”] Empathy beyond the conceptual, Read the full article…
Empathy Before Money?
This is indeed challenging in a world (still) bent on money. The challenge is to make ’empathy’ more worthy in the stakeholders’ perception. Money at second place This may seem too idealistic to be viable. Does the money not always prevail? “Cash is king” and “Money makes the world go round”? So, will people who Read the full article…
Is Compassion Art?
Is a person’s Compassion unchangeable? Or can one enhance it, building further on an innate capacity? Placebo To understand Compassion-as-art, we need to differentiate it from placebo-as-lie (which I generally call just placebo). If this is not done, Compassion may be fought against – correctly – by any scientifically minded person. And that would be Read the full article…
Compassion and Equanimity
Compassion and equanimity: two complex concepts that belong together in-depth. Compassion is a kind of positive empathy. Not: getting carried away in other people’s feelings, but: having and showing attention for them => feeling those feelings like the waves on a deep ocean and then inviting the others to go deeper with you. Emotions are Read the full article…
No Compassion, no Sense
In search of sense in the most general way, I come to Compassion. Even intelligence makes no sense without it. What’s the meaning of it all? God is an easy solution. Believe in one or another, and you get meaningfulness for free. However, the solution is so easy that we find a thousand of them. Read the full article…
Compassion towards Happiness
The search for common ground may lead to practical consequences. This is a subtle piece of writing. Its appreciation needs feeling as well as thoughtful understanding. Enforcing happiness doesn’t work. Commonsensically, one cannot enforce happiness nor fight against unhappiness. Trying to do so readily leads to less happiness immediately or in due time ― a Read the full article…
My People is Everybody
Without diminishing the “XX (= my people) first,” it explodes the XX. There is no first, principally, thus also no second and no last. No zero-sum ― only abundance. Please, read first [see: “Compassion, basically“] One can start from the right of the strongest and win ― especially in a game made by oneself with Read the full article…
How to Build a Culture of Compassion
Challenging indeed ― especially in an organizational environment with zero compassion and a lot of fear and toxicity. Some AURELIS-congruent ideas may be helpful. Please read first, [see: “Compassion, basically“]. No coercion One might be tempted to impose some Compassionate rules and quickly get on with the real business. In my view, this is not Read the full article…
Worldwide Compassion
I have a recurrent dream: worldwide Compassion. Note that in this text, I bring my personal view upon what this encompasses. Please read this first: [see: “Compassion Connecting East & West“] Ubiquitous Compassion – in the sense of [see: “Compassion, basically“] – is a worldwide, recognizable phenomenon, although people may realize it in many different Read the full article…
Compassion, Basically
This text and diagram form an entry to the basic idea of Compassion as I write about in many blogs. Compassion is SO much more than pity. Compassion is also more (going deeper) than empathy. Preliminary Note that the following diagram is but a mnemonic coat rack. It needs the proper coats for any correct Read the full article…
We’ll Make it Through
We may get sick. We will die. We encounter adversities of many kinds. We’ll make it through, together. This is more than a promise. It is a faith. Humankind at its best. Is anything worth anything that diminishes this? I am for you, and you are for me. Compassion in coaching and anywhere else. All Read the full article…
In-Depth Compassion
This is a very complex phenomenon. It is very difficult to reach and has very important implications. The usual view of compassion in relation to empathy Empathy is usually seen as part of a bigger sum that leads to compassion. This is straightforward, as in this simple scheme: If we go somewhat more profoundly into Read the full article…
From Mirror Neurons to Mirror Brain
Seeing the brain as a ‘mirror brain,’ we can see how empathy plays a crucial role in many things mind-related. Empathy is not an add-on. The human thinking is basically empathic. This is an excerpt from [see: “The Journey Towards Compassionate AI.”]. (This blog text is no easy reading.) Some researchers see mirror neurons as Read the full article…
How Empathy Works
This is an explanation at the mental-neuronal patterns level. Encompassing this, empathy goes beyond the purely conceptual, towards ‘big-c-Compassion.’ Please read [see: “Landscape of Empathy“], [see: “Essence of Compassion“] This text is a high-level explanation Being theoretical, it doesn’t delve into the how of making empathy work better depending on the goal. It does show Read the full article…
No Compassion without Growth
Striving towards Compassion puts you in the balance. Are you willing to take the risk? Are you willing to fundamentally ‘grow’? This is about big-c-Compassion ― not something pity-like. [see: “Essence of Compassion”] Please also read [see: “Growth, Compassion, Love”] Compassion will not happen without effort. A Compassionate person doesn’t mind the effort. Like Grace Read the full article…
Compassion over Addiction
Addiction and Compassion (with capital C) are subconceptual happenings. Thus, they belong to the same domain and which is different from the merely conceptual one. This opens specific perspectives. Please make sure to read first: [see: “Essence of Compassion”] [see: “Addiction: in Search of Deeper Meaning”] [see: “About ‘Subconceptual’”] Also, please follow the other links Read the full article…
Empathy vs. Placebo
As in other cases, how terms are used is of little importance as long as crucial conceptual distinctions are valued. The landscape of subconceptual communication Mere consciousness is not the realm of subconceptual communication (SC). [see: “About ‘Subconceptual’”] This is also the case in health-related issues. [see: “Subconceptual Processing in Health and Healing”] A patient Read the full article…
Compassion: Relief of Dissociation
This is not straightforwardly the diminishment of suffering. Relief of inner dissociation acts from where it counts: from inside out. Inner dissociation is the presence of stark incongruence(s) in human depth. Eventually, in-depth, ‘suffering’ is itself the feeling of this inner incongruence. The related tension is the tension between mutually incongruent, mental subconceptual patterns. [see: Read the full article…
Only Compassion Works
What works and towards what? This simple dual question has far-reaching consequences. [see: “If it works, then it’s OKAY?”] To me, this question is always important. “It works” is not enough as a statement about anything. Compared to placebo A placebo (defined as deceitful) will never do in any straightforward way since the ‘towards what’ Read the full article…
Altruism – Compassion
Taking into account the depth of nonconscious, subconceptual processing. Empathy is considered elsewhere. [see: “Landscape of Empathy“] For this text, ’empathy’ may be considered as a part of altruism and Compassion. Terms and concepts in an image The relative sizes of the arrows are arbitrary. The circle stands for the mental life of a person. Read the full article…
From Therapy to Empathy
The future cannot be to un-science. It cannot be without empathy in full mode. The term ‘therapist’ comes from the Greek ‘Serapis,’ a Hellenization of the Egyptian god Osiris. [see: “Isis’ priests, named ‘therapists’”] I think that, in those ages, anyone with a serious psycho-somatic disorder could best go and visit such a temple. The Read the full article…
Compassion Connecting East & West
And North and South, of course, and everything in-between ― even past, present, and future. Essential A Compassionate attitude is to be received gracefully after sometimes earning it with huge effort and even danger to yourself. Sacrifices are unnecessary, but the person who is reluctant to make them can hardly attain a Compassionate stance. At Read the full article…
Practicing Compassion
Deep, spontaneous, difficult. Looking for a shortcut? Then it’s even much more difficult. Formal meditation Yes, the beautiful action ― in my view, warm and friendly. [see: “True Meditation is Warm and Friendly”] At least this kind of meditation is a direct practice of Compassion towards yourself, then towards others, and all sentient beings. Soto, Read the full article…
Empathy ― Sympathy
Differences are subtle yet essential ― even more so in healthcare, for instance. Semantics To avoid conceptual misunderstanding, please see the image at [see “Landscape of Empathy”] before reading further. To me, empathy is sitting in the boat, while sympathy is swimming in the water of the stream. Even so, there is no strict delineation Read the full article…
Looking at Suffering
We should never forget the suffering. Numbers don’t suffer. People do. Children and mothers and fathers, as you know. Husbands and wives. We know. Should we then all keep thinking about the suffering of so many who are in misery? Yes, we should, in a way. Of course, we cannot, for several reasons. We don’t Read the full article…
Compassion and Constructionism
Constructionism shows the importance of not getting stuck in a constructed reality. Compassion ethically realizes this for the good of many. I write Compassion with a Capital because of its relation to the subconceptual. Depth involved Compassion encompasses a profound way of looking at people (and all sentient beings). ‘Deep’ in this means that the Read the full article…
Compassionate Goal of Coaching
This goes further than usual. Compassion takes into account the total person and leads to Inner Strength. More than symptomatic This means that people need some proper insight early on. To some, this may be a hurdle even to consider it as a worthy goal. The West, at least, has become a symptomatic society. For Read the full article…
The Coach’s Charisma
Crucial is where it comes from: the outside or the inside. I see in the latter the Compassion-factor. Compassion [see: “Two-Sided Compassion”] Compassionate healing comes from the inside out. This ‘inside’ doesn’t just mean ‘inside the mind.’ It goes deeper within the mind itself in accordance with subconceptual processing, getting to inside mental-neuronal patterns. [see: Read the full article…
Guan-Shi-Yin
Today, you may call me an idealist as never before. An ultra-woke person may call me a sexist. A fact is that Guan-Shi-Yin is female. That, at least, is what is. I cannot help it. Besides, she started male. In Indian Buddhism, long before Jesus preached his lovely message, ‘she’ was known as Avalokiteshvara, the Read the full article…
Sustainability through Compassion
In order to be more than a buzzword, sustainability needs to be more than itself. Without Compassion, there may not even be sustainable sustainability. Please read [see: “Essence of Compassion“] to get a feel of appropriate un-easiness. That is always a good start towards Compassion. Abstractly Compassion is the connection between people in total-person. Making Read the full article…
Essence of Compassion
Effortless and challenging. Compassion is the most natural thing. Thus, there is no effort needed to get into the Compassionate journey. Rather, it needs a letting-go. The direction is towards harmony in the huge set of mental/neuronal patterns of the mind/brain. [see: “Human Brain: Giant Pattern Recognizer”] The more harmony, the less ‘stress.’ Of course, Read the full article…
Religion and Compassion
Compassion = Open Religion? Please read first [see: “Essence of Compassion“] to get a feel of appropriate un-easiness. That is always a good start towards Compassion. Compassion, the road towards nonbelief A belief in a conceptual anything is not religious in my use of terminology. I foresee a gentle slope towards Open Religion [see: “What Read the full article…
Sustainable Healthcare through Compassion
Without Compassion, it is impossible to see the complex connectivity shaping health and illness. This leads more and more to unsustainable healthcare. Please read [see: “Essence of Compassion“] to get a feel of appropriate un-easiness. That is always a good start towards Compassion. Horizontal, vertical This is one way of looking at health and healthcare. Read the full article…
Through Compassion to Compassion
When the means is also the goal, one can foresee a self-enhancing journey towards more Compassion, if only well supported. This is highly hopeful. Compassionate healing A Compassionate stance can have a healing influence in many situations. The Compassionate person does this through closeness in an environment of safety ― including the absence of any Read the full article…
Superficial Empathy?
‘Empathy’ sometimes has a bad name, being what may lead people to irrational behavior. Making a proper distinction between superficial and deep empathy brings us a lot further. A warning: ‘Superficial empathy’ is possible. And it’s, well, superficial, in the sense of exclusively shallow. The latter is very different from a superficial layer that is Read the full article…
When Weeping is Strength
I weep sometimes. Mostly, it has nothing to do with sadness. Also, as a strength, there is never any shame involved. Scientifically Scientifically, I see weeping as very broad mental patterns being touched in an emotional way. Why, in our evolution, did tear glands lend themselves to the expression of such? Maybe it’s because we Read the full article…
25. COVID Compassion – Healing Individuals and Society
In a socially challenging period, human traits may come out intensified. Hopefully, in this corona pandemic, Compassion will prevail. ►►► WHY read this? Compassion is a strong answer to many COVID-related issues. Can it be your answer too? ◄◄◄ Compassion is not ’empathy.’ Apart from terminological issues [see: “Landscape of Empathy”], empathy can be narrow Read the full article…
What Makes Lisa Compassionate?
There are two sides to this: the ethical and the technological. Lisa is an A.I.-driven coaching chat-bot. For more: [see: “Lisa“]. Compassionate Artificial Intelligence In my book The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I. : Who We Are – What A.I. Can Become – Why It Matters, I go deeply into the concepts of Information, Intelligence, Consciousness, Read the full article…
The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I.
So, I’ve written a book. It carries the same title as this blog. It’s about intelligence, consciousness, and Compassion (with capital). Only on the background of these can one talk about the future of real A.I. (and us). First things first: ‘The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I.’ is available through many internet outlets, such as Amazon. Read the full article…
Two-Sided Compassion
To relieve suffering and to attain human growth: these two sides form ‘Compassion,’ which one may see as the main aim of humanity. Compassion (with big C) is not something like ‘pity’. To keep the distinction clear, I write Compassion in this text with capital C. A total person (no mere ego) is the modality Read the full article…
Compassionate A.I.
Let me be very positive, envisioning a future in which A.I. will have as the main characteristic that which also is the best in human being. Let me call it ‘Compassion.’ A term does not have the magical feature of conjuring up a concept unless this concept is well defined and agreed upon. To me Read the full article…
Be(com)ing Positive
It happens: people who see themselves as ‘positive’ but who are such only in a superficial layer, like thin ice over a pool. Being positive is not saying ‘yes’ to anything and then again, it is. But not thoughtless, not feeling-less. One can say ‘yes’ in many ways. It can mean “I see you”, “I Read the full article…
Truly Gentle
Being truly gentle includes being gentle to truth in a most humane way. Thus, striving to be gentle is of the highest importance. As in gentle-man, again [see: “A Lady’s Beauty is a Gentleman’s Delight”] Of course, this is not to acquit the ladies from any responsibility or other personal involvement. I’m talking from a Read the full article…
Beyond Sadness
‘Sadness’ is not fixed, impersonal and ‘real’ as is the computer on which I am typing this text. Instead, it is personal, social and ‘real’ in a much more interesting way. As any other emotion: surprise, fear, disgust… We live with emotions. We talk about emotions. We see emotions in other people. We feel them Read the full article…
24. Empathy in 1, 2, 3 – Part 3: ‘Beyond the Conceptual’
“Where two of you are together, I am present.” The human mind: rather a chest of drawers or a cloud? One could see the human mind as a collection of boxes, a kind of chest of drawers in which one can store all kinds of things. There is a clear subdivision. In each tray, there Read the full article…
23. Empathy in 1, 2, 3 – Part 2: ‘Openness’
Most important in empathy: Do not stand in the way of it. Openness to meaningful patterns By this I mean YOUR openness. It may feel like intuition or a deep sensation. You may have already heard of ‘non-conceptual communication’: in addition to everything a patient tells you at a verbal conceptual level, he/she always sends Read the full article…
22. Empathy in 1, 2, 3 – Part 1: ‘Silence’
Silence is the mental space in which the patient may be him/herself. Harsh destination In a previous column, you could read about the importance of empathy. [see: “Empathy: What it Was, Is and… Will Be?“] An empathic doctor does not need to be convinced of that. A non-empathic doctor does, because for him it is, Read the full article…
21. Empathy: What it Was, Is and… Will Be?
Empathy is difficult to conceptualize because it is ‘beyond the conceptual’. What it was In the second half of the 19th century, bedside manners were the main instrument of the doctor. The time of bloodletting, purgatives, and leeches (in 1827 in France still good for an import of 33 million specimens, in addition to the Read the full article…
Growth, Compassion, Love
With capitals, for it is about the total person, including a vast universe of unconscious processing. It’s altogether a familiar, yet tremendous domain. [see first: ‘Landscape of Empathy’]. Please especially look at the image there before your read this present text. Dedicated lexicon: Growth: developing qualitative mental patterns at the subconceptual level, of which the Read the full article…
Can A.I. be Empathic?
Not readily in the completely human sense of course. But can A.I. show sufficient ‘empathy’ for a human to recognize it as such, relate to it and even ‘grow’ through it? [Please read: “Landscape of Empathy”] Humans tend to ‘recognize’ human features in many things. We look at the clouds and we see human faces Read the full article…
Towards Universal Empathy
Universal empathy is a moral stance that may solve the in-group >< out-group problem. [‘further on ‘In-Group Creates Out-Group?’] “How numerous the living beings may be, I pledge to liberate (from suffering) them all.” This is one of four Buddhist ‘vows of the Bodhisattva.’ Not being an adept of Buddhism, I find in it a Read the full article…
Beyond ‘Carrot and Stick’
Carrot and stick have a long history. Going beyond, one can foresee a future based on a more realistic view on human being. Reward and punishment are efficient means to make someone comply to rules and authority. So has always been thought and taught. Reality may have been quite more complicated. In the face of Read the full article…
Manipulation of Empathy
Since empathy is a primordially social reflex, manipulation of empathy is relatively easy and can rightly be called ‘sociopathy’. Unfortunately, this is not seldom in politics worldwide. People are ‘natural empathizers’ but diverse in form and object. For example: empathy for close circle (family, ‘own people’…) versus empathy for wide circle (‘human rights’…). Thus, even Read the full article…
Empathy and Morality
I (yes, I) contend that morality of a really human kind is basically based on empathy. Rationality is its servant. [This text is a continuation on ‘Landscape of Empathy’.] One may recognize a quote from the Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776) “Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can Read the full article…
The Middle Way of Dialogue
Dialogue: speaking while listening and listening while speaking. Dialogue strengthens. Unfortunately, there seems to be a growing lack of it. Speaking while listening Non-verbally, deeply attentive: showing yourself in your listening. It helps the other to speak well and thus it also helps your listening. Listening while speaking Straightforwardly: seeing the other ‘speak while listening’. Read the full article…
The Concept ‘Kindness For the Total Person’
Kindness… is probably the first word that comes to mind with reference to AURELIS. E.g. if you want to explain to anyone what AURELIS is about. It is also very important when you are doing an AURELIS session for example. The aim here is to allow you to be friendly to yourself. It’s not pushing Read the full article…
Do Not Turn the Other Cheek…
… unless you think it’s worthwhile. I have a lot of respect for other-cheek-turners. If however, nothing gets learned from it, one may keep turning cheeks indefinitely. If someone slaps you on the cheek, then I think that it’s better to look at that person than to turn your gaze away while offering the other Read the full article…
Is Empathy a Force of Evil?
Of course not. Still, some describe it this way. The main – but not all – disagreement is one of terminology. Terms matter. Concepts are important. See ‘Landscape of Empathy’. In that drawing, I’ve distinguished some related concepts. Others may put other terms to these concepts. Empathy devoid of rationality is impossible in my conceptualization, Read the full article…
There is Still a Dire Need for More Empathy in Leadership
Good leadership is mostly defined as empathic, yet we frequently end up with a non-empathic, ‘coercive’ one. May this be related to ignoring the unconscious? Although a lot of science proves the importance of the unconscious, to many it is ‘the alien inside’, which provokes anxiety when there is even a possibility to have to Read the full article…
How to Become a Strongly Empathic Leader
Empathy gets wrongly confused with weakness. What we need is strong empathy. Empathy can be defined as understanding and sharing another person’s feelings and emotions, accompanied by a desire for action and while not canceling your own personality. It comes frequently together with integrity, authenticity and humility. Empathy is not a weakness. To constantly take into Read the full article…
About Tolerance
One cannot be tolerant to something one doesn’t know. So first comes Listening. Otherwise ‘tolerance’ can be quite in-tolerant. “You must be tolerant.” is of course a paradox. Is tolerance then selective? It appears to be so. You could even define tolerance as being intolerant to intolerance. There is – at first sight – no Read the full article…
68. Altruism is egoism
Have you ever heard of the Samaritan paradox? Some ‘scientists’ find samaritanism (just doing something for someone else) a very weird phenomenon because it doesn’t fit the so-called biological premise of me-first (including we-first for a group). They look upon any derivation of me-first as either having a hidden agenda or being an aberration, something Read the full article…
24. Love is the ultimate healer
‘Love conquers everything, even death.’ You’ve probably heard it (many times) before. And yes it sounds good, doesn’t it? So you may wonder: is there more to it than just sounding good and ever in a while, maybe, also a bit cheap? ◊◊◊ I think it has been heard and used so many times that Read the full article…
Can Tango Teach Us Empathy?
Tango as art… Historically seen, thinking about empathy originates from thinking about experiencing art. Someone looks at a painting and experiences through this something meaningful deep inside. The viewer feels deeply, empathically touched ‘as if from inside the work of art.’ In most cases it’s difficult to express in words really what this is or Read the full article…