To solve the issues of racism, inequality and poverty, Dacher Keltner said, more compassion is needed. That’s the central argument of Keltner’s work: A more compassionate society is a better one.

In Hendricks Chapel, the packed pews of Syracuse University students and professors and Syracuse locals listened to Keltner, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and a human emotion researcher, talk about compassion on Tuesday night. Keltner was the first speaker of the spring 2016 University Lecture series.

In his work, Keltner disputes that people are inherently self-interested and instead shows that individuals thrive and are sustained through compassion, sympathy and goodness toward others.

Keltner, who advised the director of Pixar’s “Inside Out” on how to accurately portray emotions, said these traits are not only for the good of individuals, but for society as a whole. The more compassionate people’s communities are, he said, the better people will do as a society.

To Keltner, there is more to this than just the political or scientific aspects. From a social standpoint, Keltner said studies show inequality has toxic effects on societies, such as decreasing life expectancy and the quality of one’s living.

Some audience members said they had never heard of the science of compassion, while others said they came because they believed the idea was important in the context of the United States’ current political atmosphere.

In a brief social experiment during the lecture, attendees were asked to make two noises: the sound of interest and the sound of compassion. When the crowd vocalized compassion, a resounding “aw” filled Hendricks.

This challenges the Hobbesian view — named for the 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes — that says man’s life is all but “nasty, brutish and short,” Keltner said. He instead raised the idea that compassion is necessary to communities because it inspires, increases altruism and spreads generosity on online social networking.

Keltner also discussed the communication of emotion through non-verbal cues, such as facial expression and touch.

Matt Russel, who works for the Contemplative Collaborative at SU, said this was particularly interesting because the organization’s members “generally see compassion as new movement,” adding that Keltner “made it clear that compassion is fundamental to our species and our being.”

Keltner added that there are positive effects of non-verbal cues in classrooms and on teams.

Research shows that girls are five times more likely to try hard problems on the board when given a pat on the back, he said. Additionally, the same studies show that non-verbal cues, such as high-fives and leaping chest bumps, lead to better teamwork and improved overall team performance.

If compassion is in fact evolutionary, Keltner said there should be neurophysiological evidence to prove that it is part of the core construction of humans.

Recent studies may be proving this, Keltner said. One study of students watching emotion-provoking images shows that, in response to compassion, a small part of the brain lights up near the base of the spine. As this is one of the first parts of the brain to develop, it shows that compassion may have come early in the evolutionary track.

As people evolved, Keltner argued compassion has, as well.

He also argued that throughout history there has been a reduction of violent crimes such as rape, domestic abuse and robbery, as well as an increase in an extension of rights that has decreased slavery and child labor laws and improved the treatment of those with mental illnesses.

There are six ways to move toward a more compassionate world, Keltner said. Of the six, some include deep breathing practices, embracing negative emotion and practicing kindness, gratitude and going outdoors.

He added that these methods have physiological benefits, too. Many of these practices reduce anxiety, increase brain and immune system function and may lead to a longer life.

Published on March 9, 2016 at 12:59 am

Contact Tara: trtolton@syr.edu