Modern science is finding biological and other scientific methods of understanding how human beings develop compassion, empathy, and love including the functioning and development of the “vagus” nerve and the love hormone “oxytocin.” Links to current research will be added to this section of the website as they become available.
The UC Berkeley psychologist and Faculty Director of the Greater Good Science Center, Dacher Kelter, shares his research on the vagus nerve, a key nexus of mind and body, and a biological building block of human compassion. Click for video.
The Medical School at Stanford University has also developed the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) collaborating with a number of prominent neuroscientists, behavioral scientists, geneticists and biomedical researchers to closely examine the physiological and psychological correlates of compassion and altruism. – Click for more information.