The last few decades have seen an explosion in knowledge around compassion – how we cultivate it, how it can be used to help people deal with anxiety, stress, and trauma, how it can be used to build communities that support and empower, and how it can be applied to tackle major world issues like climate change and inequality.
The headings below will guide you through the story of compassion from its evolutionary origins, its application in therapy through to its use as a guide to organizing whole societies.
What is compassion?
First up we introduce you to the very basics of compassion. What do we mean by it? Where does it come from? And how can we use it?
How did compassion evolve?
This article by Olga Klimecki, Tania Singer and others explains how compassion evolved in humans and how it has been used to help care for people with mental health concerns.
What is self-compassion?
Dr Kristin Neff explains the fundamentals of self-compassion and how to practice it.
How can we use compassion to shape societies?
Prof Paul Gilbert explores how compassion can be used as a basis for the organization of entire societies.
How can we apply compassion in different settings?
Research on the use of compassion in a whole host of settings is growing rapidly. Click below to explore the use of compassion in:
And how about to different issues?
We’re also beginning to understand how to use compassion to help us build societies that are caring, inclusive, and kind. Use the links below to find out more about the use of compassion as a guide to policy-making around: