
“Desire is man’s very essence” Benedictus de Spinoza (Ethics III, proposition 95) Contemporary neuroscientific findings confirm both that we are hard-wired like other animals to attach to and care for other members of our species, and that the foundation of human empathy resides in early attachment relationships. Simply put, a child who is held and loved by a mother whose heart connects to his will grow a heart able to connect with others’. He will have also developed, within his brain, the capacity to know another as a real and vital complement to himself. His emotions will reflect this inner wealth and he will seek the world as a place to be nurtured and a place to nurture others. These findings echo what Spinoza observed three hundred and fifty years ago in his famous Ethics : human beings are naturally inclined toward society and to becoming virtuous citizens [i] . It is not against self-interest, but through our very desire for attachment to others, that we cultivate the emotions ...