"MEGHAN SULLIVAN: We think about love as primarily a psychological phenomenon, something that we don't have a great deal of control over. Aristotle famously said, when you really love a friend, you experience that person as a second self. And the Love Ethic says those same feelings should be extended to strangers. How do we navigate our lives in an era where our politics, our economics, our technology is causing us to become far more isolated and divided?"
"THUPTEN JINPA: I would define compassion in a nutshell as a natural sense of concern that arises in us in the face of someone who is in need and wanted to do something about it. And much of the current scientific studies that overlaps the science of compassion is the study of empathy. Empathy is the ability to vicariously experience someone else's pain. And that's what allows us to connect with the other person."
Love is commonly considered a psychological phenomenon that can feel beyond direct control. Aristotle's observation that loving a friend makes that person feel like a second self supports extending such regard to strangers via a Love Ethic. Contemporary politics, economics, and technology increase social isolation and division. Compassion is defined as a natural concern that motivates action when someone is in need. Empathy enables vicarious experience of another's pain and fosters connection. Meditation training can produce measurable brain activity associated with compassion. Society often mistakes kindness for weakness, and expanding love-based ethics can strengthen social cohesion.
Read at Big Think
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