There is an active school movement in character education and teaching ethics. But we don’t think it’s enough to have children just learn about ethical virtuosity, because we need to embody our ethical beliefs by acting on them. This begins with empathy.
The following is an excerpt from Daniel Goleman’s new book with Peter Senge, The Triple Focus: A New Approach to Education.
Empathy and Academic Success
The key to compassion is being predisposed to help — and that can be learned.
There is an active school movement in character education and teaching ethics. But I don’t think it’s enough to have children just learn about ethical virtuosity, because we need to embody our ethical beliefs by acting on them. This begins with empathy.
There are three main kinds of empathy, each involving distinct sets of brain circuits. The first is cognitive empathy: understanding how other people see the world and how they think about it, and understanding their perspectives and mental models. This lets us put what we have to say in ways the other person will best understand.
