WEBVTT 00:00:04.959 --> 00:00:09.908 What's a world issue that most bothers you and makes you angry? 00:00:09.908 --> 00:00:12.126 The kind of issue that speaks to your heart 00:00:12.126 --> 00:00:14.516 and you'd like to see resolved. 00:00:14.516 --> 00:00:15.531 What issue is it? 00:00:15.531 --> 00:00:19.235 Start thinking about it for a bit and shortly I'll tell you what mine is. 00:00:19.716 --> 00:00:23.300 Since my childhood, I wanted to do things differently, 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:25.199 in a different way, 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:27.815 and that turned me into a very inquisitive teenager 00:00:27.815 --> 00:00:32.324 very defensive of my own ideas and of what I believed in. 00:00:32.738 --> 00:00:35.147 I was always passionate about nature 00:00:35.147 --> 00:00:39.190 which made me decide to be a biologist early on at the age of 13. 00:00:39.190 --> 00:00:41.744 I felt that my contribution to this world 00:00:41.744 --> 00:00:44.061 would come through my love of nature. 00:00:44.061 --> 00:00:45.282 I was one of those people 00:00:45.282 --> 00:00:49.093 who would say they liked animals more than people, you know? 00:00:49.093 --> 00:00:52.991 But over time I changed, I think I matured, 00:00:52.991 --> 00:00:55.363 and when I finished college six years ago 00:00:55.363 --> 00:00:57.598 I knew I wouldn't be following that path, 00:00:57.598 --> 00:01:00.383 because the truth is you can't change the planet 00:01:00.383 --> 00:01:02.552 without changing the people. 00:01:02.552 --> 00:01:04.502 So I started to understand 00:01:04.502 --> 00:01:09.592 that the way we relate to ourselves and to others 00:01:09.592 --> 00:01:13.308 has everything to do with some patterns we observe in our society 00:01:13.308 --> 00:01:16.117 and with many of the problems we face. 00:01:16.117 --> 00:01:19.938 The way we see others, how we listen to each other 00:01:19.938 --> 00:01:22.956 and how we connect with each other has to change 00:01:22.956 --> 00:01:26.666 if we want to build a more peaceful, sustainable, 00:01:26.666 --> 00:01:28.975 and cooperative world for everyone. 00:01:29.374 --> 00:01:32.636 And when I understood that every transformation 00:01:32.636 --> 00:01:35.823 passes through us and that our minds are powerful, 00:01:35.823 --> 00:01:39.683 I decided I wanted to study how our brain works. 00:01:39.683 --> 00:01:44.139 So I started studying neuroscience, and during my graduate studies 00:01:44.139 --> 00:01:48.386 the topic of empathy came to me as my subject of study, 00:01:48.386 --> 00:01:52.629 almost like an intuition, I can't really explain why. 00:01:52.629 --> 00:01:57.892 And at that time, I still had no idea of the whole capacity of empathy, 00:01:57.892 --> 00:02:00.826 and I had no idea that this topic would become my cause 00:02:00.826 --> 00:02:04.279 and would change the path of my career. 00:02:04.279 --> 00:02:07.927 In fact, I had no idea just how important this topic would become to me, 00:02:07.927 --> 00:02:10.291 that inquisitive teenager, 00:02:10.291 --> 00:02:14.756 very defensive of her own ideas as if they were absolute facts. 00:02:14.756 --> 00:02:17.000 So I started to study about empathy, 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:20.597 which is our ability to put ourselves in someone else's place; 00:02:20.597 --> 00:02:24.289 to embrace their view, in other words, to see the world through their eyes 00:02:24.289 --> 00:02:26.867 and share their feelings. 00:02:26.867 --> 00:02:29.147 That's when I discovered that real empathy 00:02:29.147 --> 00:02:32.560 actually breaks the majority of our paradigms. 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:36.270 You know that golden rule we're taught as children? 00:02:36.270 --> 00:02:39.641 "Treat others the way you would like to be treated." 00:02:39.641 --> 00:02:42.473 Forget it. From now on, it's meaningless. 00:02:42.473 --> 00:02:45.716 Don't treat others the way you would like to be treated. 00:02:45.716 --> 00:02:50.025 They could simply just have preferences completely different to yours. 00:02:50.025 --> 00:02:52.362 Empathy is about understanding this. 00:02:52.362 --> 00:02:57.988 You know what empathy is: that cute, loving, maternal feeling 00:02:57.988 --> 00:02:59.937 that accepts everything? 00:02:59.937 --> 00:03:02.115 We’ll go far beyond that concept. 00:03:02.115 --> 00:03:05.320 Empathy is a powerful force. 00:03:05.320 --> 00:03:09.183 Empathy is what unites us all as a society. 00:03:09.183 --> 00:03:12.704 We could even consider that society, the way it is now, 00:03:12.704 --> 00:03:14.976 is not the society that people want to live in, 00:03:14.976 --> 00:03:17.659 but I can guarantee you that, without empathy, 00:03:17.659 --> 00:03:20.393 we wouldn't be living in any society. 00:03:20.393 --> 00:03:23.424 Empathy is a revolutionary force 00:03:23.424 --> 00:03:27.096 that can help us change this world we live in, 00:03:27.096 --> 00:03:29.445 in the world we want to live in. 00:03:29.445 --> 00:03:33.031 It's truly a hard time for dreamers, 00:03:33.031 --> 00:03:37.744 and in these hard times, sometimes it's not easy to talk about empathy. 00:03:37.744 --> 00:03:39.768 Sometimes people are led to believe 00:03:39.768 --> 00:03:42.679 that human beings aren't empathetic by nature. 00:03:42.679 --> 00:03:46.022 Many historians, writers, and philosophers 00:03:46.022 --> 00:03:48.697 have written about the dark side of human beings, 00:03:48.697 --> 00:03:50.938 the Machiavellian, self-centered side, 00:03:50.938 --> 00:03:53.777 and we can be led to believe, 00:03:53.777 --> 00:03:56.347 our society is leading people to believe, 00:03:56.347 --> 00:04:01.213 that this dark side might be bigger and stronger than the good side, 00:04:01.213 --> 00:04:04.036 than the cooperative or generous side. 00:04:04.580 --> 00:04:11.031 I won't deny the events we see daily, on TV, on newscasts, 00:04:11.031 --> 00:04:14.127 or even things that happen in our daily lives, 00:04:14.127 --> 00:04:15.527 can confirm that belief, 00:04:15.527 --> 00:04:19.231 can make us think that humans are self-centered. 00:04:19.231 --> 00:04:23.931 But that is where science comes in to give people a little more hope, 00:04:23.931 --> 00:04:26.574 because neuroscience has made many discoveries 00:04:26.574 --> 00:04:29.804 about how humans function and how we relate to one another, 00:04:29.804 --> 00:04:34.241 and these discoveries have offered us a new perspective on human beings. 00:04:34.715 --> 00:04:35.818 So, to begin with, 00:04:35.818 --> 00:04:41.087 neuroscience has proven that we're empathetic by nature. 00:04:41.087 --> 00:04:43.195 We are social beings 00:04:43.195 --> 00:04:48.503 and we are made to live and benefit from a harmonious society. 00:04:48.503 --> 00:04:53.264 We're born with structures, processes, brain connections 00:04:53.264 --> 00:04:57.838 that exist so that we can connect with each other and express empathy. 00:04:59.036 --> 00:05:01.863 We start to manifest this as babies. 00:05:01.863 --> 00:05:06.477 You know when you have a baby and you start making faces at them 00:05:06.477 --> 00:05:08.616 and suddenly they imitate your face, 00:05:08.616 --> 00:05:11.963 or you make a sound and suddenly they start imitating those sounds? 00:05:11.963 --> 00:05:13.692 That baby is imitating you, 00:05:13.692 --> 00:05:18.017 and imitation is one of the neural bases of empathy. 00:05:18.017 --> 00:05:21.629 We can empathize because we are capable of imitation. 00:05:21.629 --> 00:05:25.890 This is possible because we have a system of special neurons, 00:05:25.890 --> 00:05:28.056 known as the mirror neuron system, 00:05:28.056 --> 00:05:32.568 whose function is to recreate and mirror, in our own brain, 00:05:32.568 --> 00:05:34.431 anything that we see in others. 00:05:34.431 --> 00:05:37.428 It could be an action, a movement, or an emotion. 00:05:37.428 --> 00:05:41.885 We observe ourselves in others and it's as if we were in their place. 00:05:41.885 --> 00:05:44.555 That's the reason why, if I were to ask you right now 00:05:44.555 --> 00:05:48.460 to imagine a little cut in the middle of your finger, like this, 00:05:48.460 --> 00:05:50.335 that came from a paper cut, 00:05:50.335 --> 00:05:53.722 and a drop of lemon juice right in the cut... 00:05:53.722 --> 00:05:56.415 I noticed some of your faces and the way you reacted: 00:05:56.415 --> 00:05:59.992 you cringe, you make weird noises, 00:05:59.992 --> 00:06:03.516 because in that moment our mirror neuron system is working 00:06:03.516 --> 00:06:06.441 and it's as if it was happening to your own body. 00:06:06.441 --> 00:06:08.983 That is also why we cry during sad films 00:06:08.983 --> 00:06:11.240 and it's why we can, somehow, 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:12.870 feel what others feel, 00:06:12.870 --> 00:06:16.950 because we always mirror each other. 00:06:16.950 --> 00:06:19.552 Secondly, neuroscience shows us 00:06:19.552 --> 00:06:22.986 that, despite empathy being innate, it can be trained, 00:06:22.986 --> 00:06:27.721 and this is possible due to one of the most wonderful aspects 00:06:27.721 --> 00:06:30.196 of our brain, in my opinion: 00:06:30.196 --> 00:06:32.433 our brain is plastic. 00:06:32.433 --> 00:06:36.395 This means that it can mold and adapt itself 00:06:36.395 --> 00:06:39.794 to all and any stimulation that we give it. 00:06:39.794 --> 00:06:41.704 That's why at any moment in your life 00:06:41.704 --> 00:06:43.747 you can learn new things. 00:06:43.747 --> 00:06:47.754 You can learn to speak a new language, play a new instrument, 00:06:47.754 --> 00:06:50.893 or develop any skill you wish. 00:06:50.893 --> 00:06:53.425 With empathy, it's exactly the same thing: 00:06:53.425 --> 00:06:55.478 from now on, if you settle on 00:06:55.478 --> 00:06:58.163 training your empathy in a conscious way, 00:06:58.163 --> 00:07:01.715 your brain will start to develop specific structures, 00:07:01.715 --> 00:07:04.227 it will start to make new neural routes, 00:07:04.227 --> 00:07:07.256 and over time empathy will become 00:07:07.256 --> 00:07:10.936 a more automatic and natural process for you. 00:07:10.936 --> 00:07:14.158 So, cool. Science shows us that we're born empathetic 00:07:14.158 --> 00:07:17.605 and that we can practice empathy. 00:07:17.605 --> 00:07:18.683 But for what? 00:07:18.683 --> 00:07:21.838 Why would we waste our time practicing our empathy? 00:07:21.838 --> 00:07:25.957 Firstly, I think it's because nobody lives alone in this world, 00:07:25.957 --> 00:07:30.495 and empathy can help us have more profound relationships 00:07:30.495 --> 00:07:33.855 and more meaningful ones with people around us. 00:07:33.855 --> 00:07:37.008 Secondly, because today empathy has already been considered 00:07:37.008 --> 00:07:39.014 one of the important skills of the future, 00:07:39.014 --> 00:07:41.838 one of the important skills of leadership of the future 00:07:41.838 --> 00:07:45.805 because it helps us improve other very important skills. 00:07:45.805 --> 00:07:49.599 Empathy helps us to be more creative, more innovative 00:07:49.599 --> 00:07:52.469 and to have a much faster systemic thinking. 00:07:52.469 --> 00:07:56.276 When we can view a problem, not just through our own perspective 00:07:56.276 --> 00:07:58.795 but through many different perspectives, 00:07:58.795 --> 00:08:02.593 the chances increase of us finding a more effective solution for it. 00:08:02.593 --> 00:08:05.756 And in this world which is increasingly networked, 00:08:05.756 --> 00:08:09.242 increasingly connected, increasingly cooperative, 00:08:09.242 --> 00:08:12.091 I think that these skills are fundamental. 00:08:12.091 --> 00:08:15.560 But I'll say it again: empathy is even more than this. 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:17.950 I asked you at the beginning 00:08:17.950 --> 00:08:20.520 what is a world problem that bothers you the most. 00:08:20.520 --> 00:08:23.722 Here we have a chart with some of the world's problems. 00:08:23.722 --> 00:08:27.051 The problem you thought of is probably here. 00:08:27.051 --> 00:08:29.768 If it's not here, tell me later so I can add it. 00:08:29.768 --> 00:08:32.703 So, war, inequality, poverty, 00:08:32.703 --> 00:08:35.605 intolerance, machismo, environmental issues. 00:08:35.605 --> 00:08:37.947 We have many current worldwide problems. 00:08:37.947 --> 00:08:39.701 If we start to analyze, 00:08:39.701 --> 00:08:43.823 we realize that these problems aren't isolated from one another. 00:08:43.823 --> 00:08:46.826 They're all systemic, interconnected, 00:08:46.826 --> 00:08:49.567 and they always feed back into each other. 00:08:49.567 --> 00:08:53.188 And despite being different, they have some things in common, 00:08:53.188 --> 00:08:55.530 they have some of the same causes, 00:08:55.530 --> 00:09:00.030 and I have no doubt that lack of empathy is a common cause 00:09:00.030 --> 00:09:02.326 to all these problems. 00:09:02.326 --> 00:09:05.340 We can see this chart from two perspectives. 00:09:05.340 --> 00:09:09.137 From the negative perspective, we can even become paralyzed from it, 00:09:09.137 --> 00:09:11.458 and say, "Wow, what a complex issue. 00:09:11.458 --> 00:09:14.257 What can I do to resolve a chart this big? 00:09:14.257 --> 00:09:16.504 How can I handle all this?" 00:09:16.504 --> 00:09:19.968 Or we can look at the positive side, the side of solution, 00:09:19.968 --> 00:09:21.224 and think, 00:09:21.224 --> 00:09:25.818 "If lack of empathy is the root to all of those problems, 00:09:25.818 --> 00:09:29.968 then we can imagine that developing empathy 00:09:29.968 --> 00:09:33.069 may help us solve all those problems." 00:09:33.071 --> 00:09:36.208 I want to bring up a different concept, 00:09:37.248 --> 00:09:40.163 which is the concept of acupuncture points. 00:09:40.163 --> 00:09:43.993 In Chinese medicine, acupuncture points are points on our bodies 00:09:43.993 --> 00:09:46.476 that have a great concentration of energy flow 00:09:46.476 --> 00:09:50.678 and, upon activating those points, you're not resolving a specific problem, 00:09:50.678 --> 00:09:52.990 you're relieving the whole system. 00:09:52.990 --> 00:09:55.699 When we have very complex systems like that one, 00:09:55.699 --> 00:09:57.940 in which we cannot take action upon it directly, 00:09:57.940 --> 00:10:00.500 we need to find acupuncture points. 00:10:00.500 --> 00:10:03.669 If you tamper with that, you shake everything up. 00:10:03.669 --> 00:10:08.082 I really believe that empathy is one, 00:10:08.082 --> 00:10:11.622 if not the most important point of acupuncture of our society 00:10:11.622 --> 00:10:13.632 that needs to be developed. 00:10:13.632 --> 00:10:16.047 When viewing this, I discovered that is my problem, 00:10:16.047 --> 00:10:17.838 that's what keeps me up at night. 00:10:17.838 --> 00:10:21.516 Our crisis over relations has to do with our lack of collectivity. 00:10:21.516 --> 00:10:25.282 How is it that our connection or lack of connection with some people 00:10:25.282 --> 00:10:27.797 came to cause these problems? 00:10:27.797 --> 00:10:31.213 How is it that some relations are so fragile 00:10:31.213 --> 00:10:32.982 to the point of causing wars 00:10:32.982 --> 00:10:35.885 or violent conflicts, caused by intolerance? 00:10:35.885 --> 00:10:37.462 This cannot happen, 00:10:37.462 --> 00:10:42.173 and this became my cause, it became the subject of my work. 00:10:42.173 --> 00:10:45.144 Since then, I have tried to take this subject, 00:10:45.144 --> 00:10:48.954 this broader vision of empathy to many people 00:10:48.954 --> 00:10:52.378 and have tried to plant a little seed of empathy in all of them. 00:10:52.378 --> 00:10:55.473 Just like me, there are lots of people out there doing the same, 00:10:55.473 --> 00:10:58.761 using empathy as an inspiration for social transformation. 00:10:58.761 --> 00:11:01.651 I wanted to briefly show three examples. 00:11:01.651 --> 00:11:02.758 There is an app, 00:11:02.758 --> 00:11:06.272 kind of like Tinder, but not only for loving relationships, 00:11:06.272 --> 00:11:08.223 - you can find friends there too - 00:11:08.223 --> 00:11:12.576 that connects people on opposing sides of political conflicts. 00:11:12.576 --> 00:11:14.028 What this app does, 00:11:14.028 --> 00:11:18.198 besides linking Israelis and Palestinians, republicans and democrats, 00:11:18.198 --> 00:11:21.725 is bring people closer to what really matters, 00:11:21.725 --> 00:11:25.089 what they have in common, not where they differ. 00:11:25.089 --> 00:11:30.297 Sometimes, empathy can also inspire real life-changing experiences. 00:11:30.297 --> 00:11:32.339 TETO is an NGO 00:11:32.339 --> 00:11:35.638 that promotes the growth of communities in need. 00:11:35.638 --> 00:11:39.129 Through TETO, young people, normally from higher social classes, 00:11:39.129 --> 00:11:42.898 spend days immersed in a community in need, 00:11:42.898 --> 00:11:45.159 building a house for a family. 00:11:45.159 --> 00:11:47.146 I was a volunteer for TETO for some time, 00:11:47.146 --> 00:11:50.939 and I can guarantee that, even more than building a home, 00:11:50.939 --> 00:11:53.319 the connection that exists between people, 00:11:53.319 --> 00:11:57.361 the experience and this deep sense of empathy 00:11:57.361 --> 00:12:01.197 transform you in a way that will change you forever. 00:12:01.197 --> 00:12:02.626 After an experience like that, 00:12:02.626 --> 00:12:06.426 you won't see poverty or inequality in the same way. 00:12:06.426 --> 00:12:11.415 Sometimes empathy can even inspire revolutions in technology. 00:12:11.823 --> 00:12:14.650 This is a virtual reality project by the UN. 00:12:14.650 --> 00:12:17.060 The UN has created these films in virtual reality, 00:12:17.060 --> 00:12:20.555 where you wear the headset and you feel like you're really there. 00:12:20.555 --> 00:12:24.572 Through these films, you can live the experience of a child 00:12:24.572 --> 00:12:26.640 in a Syrian refugee camp, 00:12:26.640 --> 00:12:30.416 or you can visit an Ebola treatment center in Africa 00:12:30.416 --> 00:12:33.707 through the eyes of a volunteer nurse. 00:12:33.707 --> 00:12:37.450 Despite this experience being virtual reality, 00:12:37.450 --> 00:12:39.631 it is extremely visceral 00:12:39.631 --> 00:12:44.043 and it also stays with you as if you were really there. 00:12:44.043 --> 00:12:47.615 I wonder about the potential of this on a larger scale. 00:12:47.615 --> 00:12:51.366 Imagine if everyone in the world could connect in that way 00:12:51.366 --> 00:12:53.892 with people they'll never meet in their lifetimes. 00:12:53.892 --> 00:12:57.814 And, more than that, imagine if all the governors of the world, 00:12:57.826 --> 00:13:01.066 before making important decisions, 00:13:01.066 --> 00:13:04.843 could go through these experiences, live the reality of those people. 00:13:04.843 --> 00:13:08.156 I'm confident that their choices would be different. 00:13:08.156 --> 00:13:09.856 These are only some examples 00:13:09.856 --> 00:13:12.670 of people who are using empathy as a source of inspiration. 00:13:12.670 --> 00:13:14.170 There are many, many others. 00:13:14.170 --> 00:13:16.676 I'm certain that many will show up here. 00:13:17.106 --> 00:13:20.298 All these examples are, in fact, revolutions, 00:13:20.298 --> 00:13:22.695 peaceful and systemic revolutions, 00:13:22.695 --> 00:13:25.199 that are primarily changing our relations, 00:13:25.199 --> 00:13:28.445 to change that whole system later. 00:13:28.445 --> 00:13:31.817 In this whole process since starting to study empathy a few years ago, 00:13:31.817 --> 00:13:33.494 I've learned some things, 00:13:33.494 --> 00:13:36.678 with the workshops I've done, with the conversations I've had, 00:13:36.678 --> 00:13:39.789 with people who see empathy in a different way 00:13:39.789 --> 00:13:42.367 and with the processes of change that I have followed. 00:13:42.367 --> 00:13:44.935 I want to share three of these lessons. 00:13:44.935 --> 00:13:47.846 The first is that empathy is already in every one of us 00:13:47.846 --> 00:13:49.985 and it's already a part of our lives. 00:13:49.985 --> 00:13:53.747 We wouldn't be here, living in our societies, if it weren’t for that. 00:13:53.747 --> 00:13:55.157 Then I wonder, 00:13:55.157 --> 00:13:59.125 "If it’s already inside each of us and it's already a part of our lives, 00:13:59.125 --> 00:14:01.608 then why are we not practicing it more often? 00:14:01.608 --> 00:14:05.516 We worry so much about developing all these professional skills, 00:14:05.516 --> 00:14:08.680 things that we think will be important for our careers, 00:14:08.680 --> 00:14:12.759 and perhaps we're forgetting one of the most important personal skills 00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:14.509 for the world today. 00:14:14.999 --> 00:14:20.290 Secondly, I learned that change begins within each of us, 00:14:20.290 --> 00:14:23.197 but that this isn’t sufficient. 00:14:23.197 --> 00:14:25.502 We need every transformed person 00:14:25.502 --> 00:14:27.852 to get out of the woodwork and out into the world. 00:14:27.852 --> 00:14:32.584 Get off the couch and out into the world to create new projects, new movements, 00:14:32.584 --> 00:14:35.011 or at least inspire new people, 00:14:35.011 --> 00:14:37.121 because we can't change the world on our own, 00:14:37.121 --> 00:14:40.753 but, mainly, we can't change the world just by looking inside. 00:14:40.753 --> 00:14:43.252 We need to look outside too. 00:14:43.252 --> 00:14:45.899 And finally and most importantly: 00:14:46.489 --> 00:14:49.141 it's very easy to start. 00:14:49.141 --> 00:14:51.591 The first step is very easy. 00:14:51.591 --> 00:14:53.825 Every person in this room in this exact moment 00:14:53.825 --> 00:14:55.434 can start this revolution. 00:14:55.434 --> 00:15:00.674 Every person can take on the commitment to adopt one new habit 00:15:00.674 --> 00:15:03.605 for more empathetic relations and societies. 00:15:03.605 --> 00:15:06.814 It doesn't depend on anybody, it only depends on each of us. 00:15:06.814 --> 00:15:10.208 And if we are constantly mirroring what we see in others, 00:15:10.208 --> 00:15:13.933 if our mirror neurons allow us to do so, 00:15:13.933 --> 00:15:17.987 could it be that, upon doing so, we'd be inspiring others 00:15:17.987 --> 00:15:21.883 to also take up commitments for new and more sustainable habits? 00:15:21.883 --> 00:15:23.269 I think so. 00:15:23.269 --> 00:15:29.152 And if more people adopt new and more empathetic habits, 00:15:29.152 --> 00:15:32.174 could it be that, together, we’ll get nearer to having 00:15:32.174 --> 00:15:36.410 a more peaceful, sustainable, and cooperative society? 00:15:36.410 --> 00:15:37.846 I think so. 00:15:37.846 --> 00:15:41.438 I really believe in this revolution of empathy 00:15:41.438 --> 00:15:44.325 and I know the road is very, very long, 00:15:44.325 --> 00:15:47.671 but I think that the more people believe in it together, 00:15:47.671 --> 00:15:49.769 the quicker we'll get there. 00:15:49.769 --> 00:15:51.005 Thank you. 00:15:51.005 --> 00:15:53.147 (Applause)