Can we really feel someone else's pain? Research and stories featured in this issue of Greater Good shed light on our deeply rooted ability to empathize with other people, enabling us to feel their emotions as our own. Authors explore the biological roots of empathy, explain ways to cultivate it, and consider how current social conditions inhibit the expression of empathy in the United States. The issue also features an interview with Robert Putnam, author of the book Bowling Alone, about what Hurricane Katrina revealed about Americans' sense of community.

Table of Contents

From the Editors (PDF)

In Brief (PDF)

Q&A: Rebuilding Community after Katrina (PDF)
An interview with Bowling Alone author Robert Putnam.

Symposium on Empathy

The Evolution of Empathy (PDF)
Primatologist Frans B. M. de Waal traces the evolutionary roots of our empathic instincts.

The Chauffeur's Dilemma (PDF)
Arlie Hochschild argues that empathy is being squeezed from the American way of life.

A Feeling for Fiction (PDF)
Psychologist and novelist Keith Oatley explains how fictional works nurture empathy and enhance our social and emotional lives.

Feeling Like Partners (PDF)
Family researchers Philip A. Cowan, Carolyn Pape Cowan, and Neera Mehta explain how couples can learn to practice empathy in their relationship.

Features

The Bully Problem (PDF)
by Amy Wilson
New research shows that kids suffer severely from the violence and insults doled out by their peers. But what can schools do about it?

Mother Nurture (PDF)
by Lyssa Mudd
Darlene Francis's research challenges assumptions about how our genes and our environment interact. Her findings offer some surprises--and some hope.

In Print (PDF)

An Idea for the Greater Good (PDF)
Jonathan Kozol explain how decrepit schools raise the "misery index" for inner-city children.

Resources for Greater Good (PDF)

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