“Compassion and empathy are traits that make us human, and as Dr. Wong shows, these qualities can be developed, encouraged, and cultivated. In our struggling world, we need this awareness as never before. The future of our species likely depends on it. This book is an example of how science and spirituality can come together in a brilliant synthesis.”
—Larry Dossey, MD, author of One Mind: How Our Individual Mind Is Part of a Greater Consciousness and Why It Matters
The Russian dolls model of empathy layers
Source: The Art and Science of Compassion, A Primer by Agnes M.F. Wong
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•Compassion has three components: (1) a (brief) affective empathy—one briefly “feels into” the negative experience of another; (2) a cognitive labeling of the experience as suffering by the other, including the ability to take perspective of the other and to engage in self–other differentiation; and (3) a desire or readiness to alleviate that suffering.
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It is this third component that additionally differentiates compassion from empathy; that is, unlike empathy, compassion directs one’s attention to help others, which may or may not involve actually helping these others.
earthling
