The Anthropology of Compassion

3 units

The Anthropology of Compassion will explore the nature and meaning of compassion, the neurophysical circuitry that underlies it, the evolutionary forces which have produced it, and its ongoing importance in human life and culture. The course will draw upon a wide variety of materials and disciplines to explore these questions, including ethology and primatology, neuroscience and social psychology, philosophy, world religions and ethnography.