Spontaneous empathy

I am often moved by the example of small insects, such as bees. The laws of nature dictate that bees work together in order to survive. As a result, they possess an instinctive sense of social responsibility.

They have no constitution, laws, police, religion or moral training, but because of their nature, they labour faithfully together. Occasionally they may fight, but in general the whole colony survives on the basis of cooperation.

Human beings have constitutions, vast legal systems and police forces; we have religion, remarkable intelligence and a heart with great capacity to love. But despite our many extraordinary qualities, in actual practice, we lag those small insects; in some ways, I feel we are poorer than the bees.


Even though we are social animals compelled to live together, we lack the sense of responsibility towards our fellow humans. Does the fault lie in the basic structures of family and community that support our society? Is it our own external facilities - our machines, science and technology? I do not think so.

Despite the rapid advances we have made, the most immediate cause of our present dilemma is our undue emphasis on material development alone. Without even knowing it, we have neglected to foster the most basic human needs of love, kindness, cooperation and caring.

Clearly, a genuine sense of responsibility can result only if we develop compassion. Only a spontaneous feeling of empathy for others can really motivate us to act on their behalf.