Lecture on Compassion: “The Need To Imagine: How Humans Transcend Reality Through Compassion, Awe, and Aesthetics”

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In this talk, Dachner Keltner will present an argument for how humans have evolved defining capacities to transcend self interest, and orient, as Jane Goodall said, to that which is amazing outside of the self. Keltner will chart the new science and practice of compassion and awe, and how these transcendent states are vital to the health and well-being of individuals, communities, and cultures. Arising out of these experiences, Keltner will suggest, are cultural experiences of self-transcendence — in ethical principle, artistic expression, and contemplative practice — that further contribute to well-being.