SOSC 1520 Chapter : Reading notes The Empathic Civilization.docx

• School: York University
• Department: Social Science
• Course: SOSC 1520
• Professor: John Hutcheson

Document Summary

Jeremy rifkin believes we are in a race to global empathy to avoid the collapse of civilization through entropy. Recent discoveries in brain science in child development are forcing us to rethink long-held belief that human beings are, by nature, aggressive, materialistic, utilitarian, and self-interested. The irony is that our growing empathic awareness has been made possible by an ever greater consumption of the earth"s energy and other resources resulting in a dramatic deterioration in the health of the planet. During the christmas of world war i 1914 something amazing happened there was a surreal. Christmas truce tween the front-line trenches, soldiers forgot their alliances, forgot their duties, enjoying the christmas carols even playing soccer games with the opposing force. An enlightened philosopher thomas hobbes claims that humans are born into the world as "blank slates" yet they are still acquisitive by nature. Hobbes claims that humans exist for one purpose and ultimate mission to be productive.