The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society

Synopsis

Is it really human nature to stab one another in the back in our climb up the corporate ladder? Competitive, selfish behavior is often explained away as instinctive, thanks to evolution and "survival of the fittest," but, in fact, humans are equally hard-wired for empathy. Using research from the fields of anthropology, psychology, animal behavior, and neuroscience, Frans de Waal brilliantly argues that humans are group animals—highly cooperative, sensitive to injustice, and mostly peace-loving—just like other primates, elephants, and dolphins. This revelation has profound implications for everything from politics to office culture.