Learning About Ourselves Through Outrospection and Empathy

Roman Krznaric suggests that instead of improving our lives by observing and analyzing ourselves (introspection), that we should practice what he calls outrospection, or an awareness of others. You might even call it empathy ...

Empathy can include both emotional (affective) empathy or perspective (cognitive) empathy. One way to improve our empathy is to "nurture our curiosity".

In essence, "to know thyself is something that can also be achieved by stepping outside yourself, by discovering other people's lives."

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Please share your thoughts about outrospection and empathy in the reply area below.

Empathy, Mirror Neurons, and Connecting With Others

This NOVA video discusses how a set of recently discovered brain neurons can help us have emphathy. First discovered in research with monkeys, mirror neurons, can help us connect with both the feelings and actions of others. They also show us that, "We are built to be together."

[av_video src='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmx1qPyo8Ks' format='16-9' width='16' height='9' av_uid='av-8h88j']

Please share your thoughts about empathy and mirror neurons in the reply area below.