They began by asking one of their colleagues, William Scott Green, to outline a general framework for studying altruism that could be applied to particular religions by the other conference participants. Green reviewed definitions of altruism and provided this concise version: “Intentional action ultimately for the welfare of others that entails at least the possibility of either no benefit or a loss to the actor.” According to the conference participants—each an expert scholar on a given religion—this concept is foreign to the imagination of all of the world’s major religious traditions.

Wilson, David Sloan. Does Altruism Exist?: Culture, Genes, and the Welfare of Others (Foundational Questions in Science) (p. 4). Yale University Press.

Any form of hierarchyThe belief in the existence and relevance of social hierarchies must be suspended.The Beauty of Collaboration at Human Scale: Timeless patterns of human limitations The extent to which a community… More or powerThe 20th Century political scientist Karl Deutsch said, “Power is the ability not to have to learn.”I quote this statement often, because I think it’s one of the most important… More indicates dampened feedback loops. Power can be understood as the privilegeTo not have conversations because they make you uncomfortable is the definition of privilege. Your comfort is not at the center of this discussion.Brené Brown Power can be understood as… More of not needing to learn. Evolutionary biologists David Sloan Wilson and Edward O Wilson (2007) frame the effect of social power gradients in terms of the tension between altruism and selfishness: Selfishness beats altruism within groups. Altruistic groups beat selfish groups. Everything else is commentary. This insight was well understood for several hundred thousand years of human cultural evolutionShe tells of a radical fringe of scientists who are realizing that natural selection isn’t individual, but mutual—that species only survive if they learn to be in community.Emergent Strategy: Shaping… More. The social norms in egalitarian cultures create the psychological safetyPsychological safety is a condition in which you feel (1) included, (2) safe to learn, (3) safe to contribute, and (4) safe to challenge the status quo—all without fear of… More needed for altruism to flourish.

The Beauty of Collaboration at Human Scale: Timeless Patterns of Human Limitations

When you hear about the limits of IQIQ tests are designed to determine whether a person is developing within ‘normal range’ or is ‘slow’ or ‘stuck’ in his or her development. As autistic people live in a… More these days, it’s usually in the context of a conservative narrativeWhen we successfully reframe public discourse, we change the way the public sees the world. We change what counts as common sense. Because language activates frames, new language is required… More that emphasizes not altruism or empathyEmpathy is not an autistic problem, it’s a human problem, it’s a deficit in imagination.We all need to work on imagining things we have not been through.Empathy, Imagination and Autism… More but a recycled version of the Protestant work ethic. The goal is to make sure kids will resist temptation, override their unconstructive impulses, put off doing what they enjoy in order to grind through whatever they’ve been told to do.

Grit: A Skeptical Look at the Latest Educational Fad (##) – Alfie Kohn

Further readingThere are three types of reading: eye reading, ear reading, and finger reading.The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child’s Confidence and Love of Learning Most schools and… More,