E39: Psychobiology of Mythology, the Deep Brain, and What is Empathy: A Conversation with Mike McHargue

Mike McHargue is a science expert. He has a podcast called The Cozy Robot Show. He has worked with companies like Marvel, Apple, and the New York Times. Today, we cover all kinds of territory from the science of empathy to the psychobiology of mythology and emotional optimism. Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation: Understanding the psychobiology of mythology How a given spiritual belief system impacts the culture of a society Having a sense of intellectual humility What is empathy? What is empathetic skepticism? Empathy comes from the deep brain, not the right brain Mike’s thoughts on emotional optimism Episode Highlights: Understanding The Psychobiology of Mythology Psychology and biology as two interconnected things that are not divisible. In other words, you can't conceptualize the brain without the mind. The psychological groundings in human behavior don't make sense unless you look at the brain. The notion is that our thoughts and feelings come from our bodies, but our bodies also shape our thoughts and feelings – forming an interconnected system. Having a Sense of Intellectual Humility We seem to be excited to learn from each other. It is easier to see all of the worlds when we share and receive the perspectives of others as well as the tools they've used to understand reality. And when we have that kind of sense of intellectual humility, it opens up an opportunity for us to grow. What is Empathy? Empathy is the ability to be in touch and aware of our own emotions, and to be aware that other people have their own emotions as well. In some way, our feelings are shaped by our experience with another person. And we're aware that each person has their own emotional life. Unfortunately, there's a massive collapse in the awareness and practice of empathy in people's lives. Empathy alone can actually lead to some dangerous places. Because if our empathy would cause us to dismiss or ignore the harm of what a serial killer did to the victims, for instance, then that empathy is incomplete, which introduces a real potential for cognitive dissonance in our lives. What is Empathetic Skepticism? Empathy is absent in a lot of skeptical people who think critically and who are aware of the conflicting value systems in our world as well as some of the harm that happens in our society. They think so critically that they tend to forget that human emotion is the primary motivator for human action. Therefore, it's important to be able to combine being in touch with our emotional, intuitive core, and having our thoughts and feelings work as peers, instead of having our thoughts stand superior over our feelings. That way, when we're faced with real, polarizing issues in our society, we can lean into empathy to act as a bridge, where we make people safe and at the same time, and at the same time, have an informed discussion so we can come up with pragmatic solutions that will further expand our empathy. The Deep Brain Empathy doesn't come from the right brain, but from the deep brain, composed of our brain stem and our limbic system. Those are the older parts of the brain trusted to solve our problems. But most of the problems in our society today come from too little awareness of deep brain activity, hence, too little connection with our feelings.