Images, videos and writings by senior product designers at Parsons the New School for Design.
Search This Blog
Sunday, November 7, 2010
empathic civilisation - RSA
Bestselling author, political adviser and social and ethical prophet Jeremy Rifkin investigates the evolution of empathy and the profound ways that it has shaped our development and our society.View the full video of Jeremy Rifkin’s talk at the RSA.
Jackie: thank you so much for posting this most excellent video. There is so much about this that relates to what we are trying to accomplish in thesis. As humanity invents new technologies that improve our ability to travel and communicate widely, the size and complexity of the community with whom we have to maintain an empathic connection increases. As globalization expands our reach, we discover that we need to understand people who we never used to encounter, and if we don't strive to understand them, to see through their eyes, we may misunderstand their motivations and aspirations, and then they may try to kill us. I am reading a book called The Watchman's Rattle, by Rebecca Costa. She argues that civilizations have historically become more and more complex, leading to a tipping point and collapse. If we must empathize with more and more groups in order to survive, at some point our brains will not be able to comprehend so much complexity. She makes the argument that is what led to the collapse of the Mayans, the Romans, and now us, unless we do what she recommends, of course. steven
Jackie: thank you so much for posting this most excellent video. There is so much about this that relates to what we are trying to accomplish in thesis. As humanity invents new technologies that improve our ability to travel and communicate widely, the size and complexity of the community with whom we have to maintain an empathic connection increases. As globalization expands our reach, we discover that we need to understand people who we never used to encounter, and if we don't strive to understand them, to see through their eyes, we may misunderstand their motivations and aspirations, and then they may try to kill us. I am reading a book called The Watchman's Rattle, by Rebecca Costa. She argues that civilizations have historically become more and more complex, leading to a tipping point and collapse. If we must empathize with more and more groups in order to survive, at some point our brains will not be able to comprehend so much complexity. She makes the argument that is what led to the collapse of the Mayans, the Romans, and now us, unless we do what she recommends, of course.
ReplyDeletesteven