Already a member?
Welcome to Brazen Careerist!
Emily Ma is using Brazen Careerist to share ideas. Join now to become a member and start networking with Emily Ma and other professionals just like you. Learn more.
Brazen careerist
Where ambitious young professionals connect and grow
Email
Print
Everyday I look at the news, I hear something tragic, tumultuous and sad. It usually has to do with someone doing something. We become jaded and then desensitized. I wonder: Can we not trust anyone? Are we as humans flawed?
Then I read that biologists find in humans, a natural willingness to help, from a young age.
Dr. Michael Tomasello, a developmental psychologist and co-director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany says that infants can see an unrelated adult, with their hands full, trying to open a door, etc. they will immediately reach out to help.
Frans de Waal, a primatologist, has a similar view to Dr. Tomasello as expressed in his book, “The Age of Empathy.” Dr. de Waal notes, “We’re preprogrammed to reach out. Empathy is an automated response over which we have limited control.”
No doubt, empathy builds trust, appreciation, reduces tension and can often create a beneficial environment for working out problems. It’s innate, but where do we lose our sense of self, the willingness to give, or the lack of emotion that allows us to hurt others so freely?
Dr. de Waal speaks for his trust in science, “I’d argue that biology constitutes our greatest hope…”
I’m a realist, I’m not so sure I trust in the biological hope. But I’d like to try.
Science aside, do you believe humans have an innate natural inclination to help? Or are we selfish from the get go?
For more timely, relevant, and engaging articles,
subscribe to Brazen Careerist.
- How To Find a Writing Partner Who Can Help You Achieve Your Goals and Make More Money
- Continuing Education: Extending Learning Beyond Your Campus Years
- The Anti-Stalker’s Guide for Converting Online Contact into Real World Collaboration
- A New Kind of Business Mover and Shaker
- Why You Might Be Better Off Without a Job After College
Comments
12.10.09
I would say we would like to help, but thanks to certain models of behavior, that it becomes negated. You could even say it's an issue of respect. I speak with people pretty frequently about how people rarely hold doors for each other anymore. As far as I'm concerned, it's polite behavior and has nothing to do with being a man or woman. Manners seem to go out the window after a certain age. Yet at the root of manners is the foundation of respect for others. Good post!
12.10.09
@Emily I really like how you bring up manners and respect, when integrated into into "help." I too think that basic manners should come first and it's not about helping someone, but just doing what's natural and expected. Unfortunately, it isn't...but it's nice to hear that help from within is rather innate (especially at a young age). Thanks for sharing!
Got Something To Say?
Got Something To Say?
Not a Member? Brazen Careerist is a career management tool for next-generation professionals. Set up a free account today to comment on this post and start sharing your ideas. Learn more.
Login to view your networks!
 |
 |
 |
|
|
