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The Empathic Civilization & The Age of Empathy
Jeremy Rifkin's The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis and Frans de Waal's The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society are truly books for these times. If you read only two books this year, make it these! (If you read three, add Tom Atlee's Reflections on Evolutionary Activism: Essays, Poems and Prayers From an Emerging Field of Sacred Social Change.)
I carefully read every page of Jeremy Rifkin's doorstopper (616 pages, not counting footnotes). I marked it up extensively. I re-read some sections. Next, I listened to the audiobook version of Frans de Waal's take on the deep evolutionary roots of human (and mammalian) empathy. Nearing its end (his discussion of "The Dark Side"), I was moved to tears more powerfully than by any other book I can remember.
Out of the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of books I've read in my 51 years of life on this planet, I consider Jemery Rifkin's The Empathic Civilization to be one of the 5 most significant, important, inspiring, and realistically hopeful I've yet encountered. And The Age of Empathy is also in my "Top 20" list.
The history of cosmic, biological, and human evolution understood meaningfully is my field of expertise. Rifkin's book does it all (including his quoting of de Waals' earlier writings). Rifkin integrates humanity's best collective intelligence regarding human nature and human history and does so in a way that is an absolute delight to read. (I could hardly put it down.) Midway through the book I thought to myself, incredulously, "How can one person know all this?!" That's when I went back and re-read the acknowledgments. Rifkin had a director of research working on this project for 4 years, with two dozen interns. No wonder it's so complete!
If you give both of these books a good reading, you will gain a lifeline for maintaining a sense of deeply grounded hope—no matter how disillusioning the news of the day and no matter how challenging your own life experience with our species' evolved nature.
ALSO SEE:
Is Kindness an Evolutionary Advantage?
The Young Pioneers of the Empathic Civilization
Video interview with Jeremy Rifkin via Huffington Post
Only Empathy Can Save Us: Why Jeremy Rifkin's The Empathic Civilization is February's HuffPost Book Club Pick
'Empathic Civilization' Excerpt: Homo-Empathicus, The Big Story That Historians Missed
Jeremy Rifkin's New Book: The Coolest Online Reading Experience
Our Brains Were Built For Feeling Each Other's Pain
'Empathic Civilization': Where the Jobs Are
'Empathic Civilization': Building a New World One Child at a Time
'Empathic Civilization': Amazing Empathic Babies
'Empathic Civilization': How Little Minds Are Wired For Compassion
'Empathic Civilization': Why Empathy is Essential For Doctors and in Conflict Resolution[Posted March 7, 2010]
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Good News: Cancer Free and Back on the Road!
My surgery (splenectomy) on February 3rd went really, really well. It was scheduled to last four hours but only took two. The spleen and tumor were removed, I lost very little blood, and only needed to stay in the hospital three days. I'm home now (where we're housesitting) and am feeling stronger and have less pain every day.
On Thursday my oncologist shared with me the good news that all the tests they've run indicate that I am now cancer free. I'm scheduled to have a CT scan done in early June and be tested again in November.
Connie and I are thrilled beyond words. To tell the truth, I'm still somewhat in shock. Given the size of the tumor, I think all of us, including my doctor, assumed that there was still active cancer in there. But the tests and biopsy were definitive: no lymphoma, just a huge mass of necrotic tissue (dead cells). The six rounds of R-CHOP chemotherapy (every other week in October and November) apparently did the job.
Connie and I will be hitting the road again on March 1st. Thanks to the generosity of others, we are scheduled to stay in a dozen really beautiful retreat locations all over the United States this year:
March 2-18: Nevada City, California
March 22 - April 5: Vail, Colorado
April 7-9: Cincinnati, Ohio
April 13-26: Scarsdale, New York
April 28 - May 13: Woodsfield, Ohio
May 20 - June 16: Luddington, Michigan
June 18 - July 20: Canandaigua, New York
July 21 - August 5: Madison, Wisconsin
August 1-9: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
August 7 - September 4: Durango, Colorado
September 7 - November 1: Prouts Neck, Maine
November 4-20: Athens, Ohio
November 22 - December 21: Waynesville, North CarolinaWhile we will be doing some speaking (within a 2-hour radius of these locations), we expect to mostly work on creative projects this year, such as developing educational curricula and online courses, and writing another book.
Those wishing to help further our work can do so here. Your support is greatly appreciated!
And if you've not already done so, do check out our podcasts here. As you can see and hear, even in the midst of dealing with cancer these last five and a half months, we've been having entirely too much fun!
Co-evolutionary blessings,
~ Michael
[Posted February 13, 2010]
