The Four Types Of Compassion

Dr. Paul Ekman is a famous psychologist who studied the facial expressions of emotions. Before he met the Dalai Lama, he did not know anything about Buddhism and now he is encouraging people to meditate.

I had the great pleasure of listening to him speak at The Center For Commpassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University a couple of years ago.

This video is from a recent conference on Empathy and Compassion in Society in London in the fall of 2012.

In this video, Dr. Ekman states that he cannot tell the difference between his ideas and those of the Dalai Lama. He lists the four types of compassion as

  • Familial
  • Familiar
  • Stranger
  • Sentient

He also quotes frequently from Darwin.

I really enjoyed watching this video and learning about the four types of compassion.

If you know anyone who could benefit from any one of the four types of compassion, please share this video with them.

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