Empathy Isn't What You Think It Is | Roman Krznaric
You can't be too empathetic, right?
Wrong – according to the latest Mindtools report. "The Empathy Problem" reveals the damaging impacts of having too much – or too little – empathy, especially when it comes to making decisions at work.
So, what’s the right balance? And could empathy itself be humanity’s most advanced technology?
In this conversation, Roman Krznaric — public philosopher, author of Empathy: Why It Matters, and How to Get It, and founder of the world’s first Empathy Museum — joins Nadya Tatarciuc-Birca to explore how compassion, curiosity, and imagination could reshape the future of our species.
Together, they discuss the rise of empathy as a force for change — from education and AI ethics to climate awareness and bio-empathy — and why learning to feel may be the defining skill of the century.
Highlights from the conversation:
[07:18] “What works best is the unexpected”
[12:24] “When I was 20-year-old I didn’t talk openly with other people and I didn’t make myself vulnerable very much. Whereas from Theodore Zeltin I learned about the power of doing that.”
[14:00] “Where we need to take the art of conversation to expand on empathy & care.”
[17:06] “What’s causing the empathy deficit on a global scale?” “One of the things we need to do is to start young…”
[18:19] Discussing the famous Canadian Roots of Empathy and how it helps develop empathy among younger children.
[19:31] Affective empathy / emotional empathy vs. cognitive empathy.
[22:41] “You have to be amongst people who are different from yourself.”
[24:28] “Could empathy be taught in schools?”
[25:17] “To expand our circles of empathy we need to be able to work in two directions: by becoming good ancestors — thinking what we’re leaving to generations yet to come — and by bringing in bio-empathy: empathy for the more-than-human world.”
[25:58] “Did you know that recent studies using AI in decoding animal language signals have identified that beluga whales, when they meet, first say their name and then the name of their clan? … However, this is an area of massive empathy deficit — around bio-empathic receptivity.”
[28:18] “What would an empathic society look like in 30 years from now? Did you know that in Wales there’s a Future Generations Commissioner whose job is to look at the impact of public policies up to 30 years ahead?” “Maybe there would be places where you might go and talk to beluga whales.”
[29:15] Discussing the technologies of care — stepping into the shoes of others: what should we reinforce as a legacy for tomorrow from what already exists today?
[32:44] “Human library: borrow a human for conversation. Learn their story… It can be quite addictive!”
The Future of Skills Podcast explores the ideas, people, and innovations shaping how we live, learn, and lead in the age of AI.
Subscribe for more conversations with the visionaries redefining what it means to be human.
Join the Future of Skills Book Club waitlist for exclusive content, early access to new episodes, and the chance to connect with today’s forward-thinkers and bestselling authors: https://mhq48nqlr0f.typeform.com/to/l...
#RomanKrznaric #TheFutureofSkills #EmpathyMuseum #Empathy #AIandHumanity #FutureThinking #Compassion #Philosophy #Humanity #NadyaTatarciucBirca