ABSTRACT
Without making outright predictions of the world’s future, we can assume that societies whose customs and institutions integrate emotion and reason are possible and work for their achievement. It has been speculated that revolutions in the history of human thought (agricultural, religious, scientific, etc.) can be traced to stresses caused by the rising world population (Calhoun, Man-Environment Systems, 1984, 14, 131–142). If that is true, the next revolution we can hope for is a compassionate revolution.
How might we make this revolution happen? In addition to policies that enhance caring in economics and politics, we need to make changes in some of our day-to-day customs and interactions. This includes language that avoids privileging of reason over emotion and judging individuals by the average for their groups. It includes fostering of education that prepares young people for citizenship as well as employment, with the sciences and engineering, humanities, arts, and civic engagement all funded generously.
Some readers might argue that changing our cultural attitudes and theorizing about reason and emotion is a luxury that needs to wait on solving current crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. The book argues that it is not a luxury because crises are best dealt with if we have a vision for the kind of world we wish to live in after the crises are mitigated. It argues that theory, particularly theory founded in neuroscience and psychological science, is of practical importance for creating that world. We need to use theory to overcome the cynical belief that we cannot be smart and kind at the same time.
The compassionate revolution would synthesize the best of the Enlightenment with its focus on human reason and the Romantic period with its focus on human emotion. It would enable us to live better in accordance with the complementary systems in our own brains and minds (Grossberg, Trends in Cognitive Sciences 2000, 4, 233–246).
