Tania Singer – The Power of Two

In this episode, Wendy speaks with social neuroscientist and contemplative researcher Tania Singer. Tania is a world leader in studying empathy and compassion, and her pioneering work explores the interpersonal aspects of the brain and contemplative practice. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• her lifelong fascination with social interactions;

• foundational studies on empathy in the brain;

• distinguishing the physical vs. emotional aspects of pain;

• a chance meeting with Mind & Life and critical insights from a Buddhism-science collaboration;

• the difference between emotion contagion, empathy, and compassion;

• exploring the trainability of empathy and compassion;

• schadenfreude in the brain;

• empathy burnout and compassion as an antidote;

• the importance of correlating subjective reports with brain scans;

• a landmark longitudinal study of training different aspects of meditation;

• why what you practice really matters;

• contemplative dyads and the power of practicing with another person;

• the benefits of dyads for the negative effects of COVID lockdown;

• moving dyad work into schools and hospitals;

• shifting from studying individual change to systems change;

• and the role of contemplative science amidst current societal challenges.

Full show notes and resources (podcast.mindandlife.org/tania-singer)