"Can the hyperambitious, bottom-line-driven practices of the global economy incorporate compassion into the pursuit of wealth? Or is economics driven solely by materialism and self-interest? In Caring Economics, experts consider these questions alongside the Dalai Lama in a wide-ranging, scientific-based discussion on economics and altruism.
Begun in 1987, the Mind and Life Institute arose out of a series of conferences held with the Dalai Lama and a range of scientists that sought to form a connection between the empiricism of contemporary scientific inquiry and the contemplative, compassion-based practices of Buddhism. Caring Economics is based on a conference held by the Mind and Life Institute in Zurich in which experts from all over the world gathered to discuss the possibility of having a global economy focused on compassion and altruism. Each chapter consists of a presentation by an expert in the field, followed by a discussion with the Dalai Lama in which he offers his response and his own unique insights on the subject.
In this provocative and inspiring book, learn how wealth doesn't need to be selfish, how in fact, empathy and compassion may be the path to a healthier world economy." - from publisher.
Foreword: His Holiness the Dalai Lama -- Introduction: Toward a caring economics / Tania Singer, Matthieu Ricard, and Diego Hangartner PART I: SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON ALTRUISM AND PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOR --- 1. The egoism-altruism debate: a psychological perspective / Daniel Batson --- 2. Empathy and the interoceptive cortex / Tania Singer --- 3. The neural bases of compassion / Richard Davidson --- 4. A Buddhist perspective on altruism / Matthieu Ricard --- 5. Biological imperatives for survival: altruism reconsidered / Joan Silk --- PART II: ECONOMIC RESEARCH ON ALTRUISM AND PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOR --- 6. The social dilemma experiment / Ernst Fehr --- 7. First thoughts toward a Buddhist economics / John Dunne --- 8. The economics of happiness / Richard Layard --- 9. Why people give to charity / William Harbaugh --- 10. Altruistic punishment and the creation of public goods / Ernst Fehr --- PART III: INTRODUCING PRO-SOCIALITY INTO ECONOMIC SYSTEMS --- 11. Profit with a purpose / Antoinette Hunziker-Ebneter --- 12. What can microfinance do? / Arthur Vayloyan --- 13. The barefoot college / Sanjit "Bunker" Roy --- 14. Compassionate leadership / William George --- Conclusion: Compassion is not a luxury / moderator, Joan Halifax --- Notes --- Acknowledgements --- About the Mind and Life Institute --- List of contributors --- Illustration credits..
