About
Empathy, or the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand another’s perspective, is what connects us. We use it instinctively in our everyday lives – from how we relate to our children to resolving disputes.
Latest Entries
Simplified truths
EMPATHY is a subject that is not commonly associated with science – or that’s what I had thought. So helping research the documentary that started our Empathize Now! initiative was a real eye-opener. We found – and some of you may already know – that it was the discovery of mirror neurons just 20 years ago … Continue reading
Lessons for free speech
THAT free speech has been upheld by the Supreme Court of India is indeed a wonderful outcome. But, yes, there is a but… That what we say or put out in the public domain should be done responsibly – without hurting either ourselves, our families, our communities or hurting others, others’ families or others’ communities. … Continue reading
Diagnosis of the absurd
HOW wacky can you get with a subject like Empathy in Healthcare? Well, have a look and see! We have talked about these short ten-minute plays before – performed in December, as part of the 5th National Bioethics Conference at St John’s Medical College, Bengaluru. Now they are up on YouTube. Written by the young … Continue reading
Lost, not forgotten
EVERY eight minutes a child goes missing in India. That child is not “lost”. That child has been cynically abducted and sold for less than the cost of a cow. Sold as bonded labour, as a sex object or worse. This is not Dickensian England or 18th century America. This is the face of slavery … Continue reading
Empathy is key to science of happiness
THE year is ending on a sad note – with a December of tragedies. From the slaying of innocent children in Peshawar to the Air Asia flight crashing into the Java sea. In this context, the annual list of top scientific insights on happiness by UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center brings hope – that … Continue reading
Empathy’s involvement in Patient Engagement
Originally posted on Healthcare Interoperability:
? Earlier this year, I had introduced you to “lifestyle philosopher” and Oxford University Professor, Roman Krznaric and his work on empathy’s role in our world today. He has released a new animation which is an amazing video that is part of this post. Hopefully, it is as insightful for you…
Plays ‘pack a punch’
JUST three short plays – but what a long, heady process it has been. First the idea, that it was even possible to interest young playwrights to come up with concepts for 10-minute plays on empathy in healthcare, seemed daft. Not so when Anita Mithra of Tortilla Entertainment Company stepped in and contacted writers with … Continue reading
Being mindful of empathy
THE human mind is complex – it has no physical form but we all have one and need it to function in day to day life. I believe that the mind works in two main modes. The working mode is the goal-oriented, focussed one that helps us accomplish tasks and make a living. The empathetic … Continue reading
Screenings at conference
HERE is a line up of the films we will be showing at the 5th National Bioethics Conference next month. While the main topic of discussion at the NBC is integrity and corruption in medical practice and research, the films will highlight the basic value of empathy and its connection with ethical behaviour. The films … Continue reading
Media reflects on ‘first ever’
IT is fitting that the first press coverage for the Empathize Now! programme at the National Bioethics Conference is from the Bangalore Mirror. The scientific basis of empathy, experts claim, lies with mirror neurons in the brain – the same ones fire both when we act or observe another performing the same action. Mirroring another’s thoughts and feelings creates … Continue reading
Empathize Now! 