Power and Care: Toward Balance for Our Common Future-Science, Society, and Spirituality

by Tania Singer (Editor), Matthieu Ricard (Editor), Kate Karius (Editor)

Overview

Leading thinkers from a range of disciplines discuss the compatibility of power and care, in conversation with the Dalai Lama.

For more than thirty years, the Dalai Lama has been in dialogue with thinkers from a range of disciplines, helping to support pathways for knowledge to increase human wellbeing and compassion. These conversations, which began as private meetings, are now part of the Mind & Life Institute and Mind & Life Europe. This book documents a recent Mind & Life Institute dialogue with the Dalai Lama and others on two fundamental forces: power and care—power over and care for others in human societies.

The notion of power is essentially neutral; power can be used to benefit others or to harm them, to build or to destroy. Care, on the other hand, is not a neutral force; it aims at increasing the wellbeing of others. Power and care are not incompatible: power, imbued with care, can achieve more than a powerless motivation to care; power, without the intention to benefit others, can be ruthless. The contributors—who include such celebrated figures as Frans B. M. de Waal, Olafur Eliasson, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, and Jody Williams—discuss topics including the interaction of power and care among our closest relatives, the chimpanzees; the effect of meditation and mental training practices on the brain; the role of religion in promoting peace and compassion; and the new field of Caring Economics.

Contributors
Paul Collier, Brother Thierry-Marie Courau, Frans B. M. de Waal, Olafur Eliasson, Scilla Elworthy, Alexandra M. Freund, Tenzin Gyatso (His Holiness the Dalai Lama), Markus Heinrichs, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Frédéric Laloux, Alaa Murabit, Matthieu Ricard, Johan Rockström, Richard Schwartz, Tania Singer, Dennis J. Snower, Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, Theo Sowa, Pauline Tangiora, Jody Williams

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262039529
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	05/07/2019
Series:	The MIT Press
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Tania Singer is Director of the Department of Social Science at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig.

Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk, trained as a molecular biologist before moving to Nepal to study Buddhism. He is the author of The Monk and the Philosopher (with his father, Jean-François Revel);The Quantum and the Lotus (with Trinh Thuan); Happiness; The Art of Meditation; Altruism: The Power of Compassion; A Plea for the Animals; and Beyond the Self: Conversations between Buddhism and Neuroscience (with Wolf Singer). He has published several books of photography, including Motionless Journey and Tibet: An Inner Journey, and is the French interpreter for the Dalai Lama.

Kate Karius serves to make the world a healthier, more beautiful place by supporting luminaries and mission-driven organizations in bringing their messages out into the world.

Sarah B. Hrdy is the author of Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection.

Tania Singer is Director of the Department of Social Science at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig.

Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk, trained as a molecular biologist before moving to Nepal to study Buddhism. He is the author of The Monk and the Philosopher (with his father, Jean-François Revel);The Quantum and the Lotus (with Trinh Thuan); Happiness; The Art of Meditation; Altruism: The Power of Compassion; A Plea for the Animals; and Beyond the Self: Conversations between Buddhism and Neuroscience (with Wolf Singer). He has published several books of photography, including Motionless Journey and Tibet: An Inner Journey, and is the French interpreter for the Dalai Lama.

Dennis J. Snower is Professor of Economics, Birkbeck College, University of London.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Introduction xi

Tania Singer and Matthieu Ricard, Content Curators of the Power and Care Dialogue

I Perspectives from Ethology, Anthropology, and Ecology 1

Opening Address 3

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

1 The Power and Care of Primate Alpha Males Frans B. M. de Waal 7

2 The Transformative Power of Nurturing Sarah Blaffer Hrdy 15

3 We Depend on a Harmonious Planet to Support Humanity Johan Rockström 29

II Perspectives from Psychology, Endocrinology, and Neuroscience 47

4 Psychological Considerations of the Power Motive Alexandra M. Freund 49

5 The Biology of Care: Social Hormones in the Human Brain Markus Heinrichs 55

6 Perspectives from Contemplative Neuroscience on Power and Care: How to Train Care and Compassion Tania Singer 63

7 Using Compassion and Mindfulness to Balance the Impulses of Power and Care Richard Schwartz 75

Dialogue with the Presenters, the Moderator, and the Dalai Lama 79

III Perspectives from Spiritual and Religious Traditions 87

Opening to Part III 89

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

8 A Call from the Indigenous Peoples of the Earth Pauline Tangiora 93

9 A Life of Principled Compassion Matthieu Ricard 97

10 We All Carry within Us the Rays of Light Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp 101

11 To Listen and to Love without Requiring Reciprocity 105

Brother Thierry-Marie Courau, O.P.

12 Bringing Faith Forward Alaa Murabit 109

Dialogue with the Presenters, the Moderator, and the Dalai Lama 113

IV Perspectives from Economics and Society 117

13 Self-interest, Power, and Care Dennis J. Snower 119

14 Three Economic Stories Paul Collier 129

15 Valuing Women's Work Theo Sowa 133

16 Creating Change with Peacejam Jody Williams 139

Dialogue with the Presenters, the Moderator, and the Dalai Lama 143

V Personal Commitment and Global Responsibility 151

17 Art as a Driver for Social Change Olafur Eliasson 153

18 Finding a Way to Put an End to War Scilla Elworthy 161

19 Power and Care in Organizations Frederic Laloux 165

Dialogue with the Presenters, the Moderator, and the Dalai Lama 173

Conclusion Tania Singer 177

Inspiring Workshops 181

Acknowledgments 183

About Mind & Life Europe 185

Contributors 187

Index 195

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

At a time when humanity is rethinking the very nature of our being, this book is a powerful reminder of an age-old truth—that our most important quality is our innate ability to empathize with and show compassion to our fellow human beings and fellow creatures that cohabit this small oasis in the universe.

—Jeremy Rifkin, Author of The Empathic Civilization

Meditation or prayer alone cannot solve the problems we face on our planet. We must act. This book offers valuable insights on the powers at play, especially with regard to power and care, and how we can—through education and the cultivation of our inner values—effect change for the benefit of all sentient beings.

—Richard Gere

From the natural sciences to psychology and from economics to the contemplative traditions, this remarkable volume will prove far-reaching as it strives to bridge the divide between the power inherent in scientific knowledge and the care we must extend to each other and our beleaguered planet if humanity is to flourish in the decades ahead.

—Arthur Zajonc

Editorial Reviews

Those who are interested in how Buddhist principles and the science of compassion and power overlap—or what a spiritual leader might contribute to scientific thinking—will find it an entertaining read. The book provides at least some idea of how we might find a way to balance power and care, for the sake of humanity.—Greater Good—

From the Publisher