Part of our very nature is to suffer at the suffering of others,” says Bloom. Among babies, crying is practically contagious. As soon they can move on their own, kids will attempt to comfort people in distress and even give up food and toys to those in close proximity to them.Sharing arises from the impulse to ease collective suffering.In other words, greed is not good. Relationships are.
What limits this kindheartedness is how broadly it is extended and to whom. At nine months, babies begin to experience anxiety around people they don’t know, a fear of “the other” termed “stranger panic,” which Bloom believes is universal. For researchers, stranger panic raises a sort of philosophical puzzle:
Tell us: do you agree? Is this the dawn of a new age of empathy? Are we driven to care?
by Megan Erickson