Last update: October 11, 2017
It is not easy to define goodness. It is connected to empathy and solidarity, but it is not limited to that. It is not just a feature, it is also a human value. This means that it is more than a capacity, because it is enriched by an ethical decision.
Goodness is defined in the dictionary as an inclination to do good. The problem is that "good" is a relative concept. A more precise meaning would be to say that goodness is the ability to feel compassion. In other words, feel the suffering of others as one's own and strive to remedy it.
“Seeking the good of our fellow men, we will find ours”.
-Plato-
This beautiful virtue doesn't just apply to other human beings. Goodness is also expressed with all living beings and what is not alive, if we consider it as an effort to preserve what exists the way it exists. There is goodness, therefore, in a painting or in a stone lying on a path.
Goodness is a superior virtue because it implies many others. Among them, love, respect, fraternity, generosity and many others. Therefore, it requires a great spiritual and mental maturity. Thanks to the various studies, it has been possible to verify that it is a localizable ability in the brain and that it constitutes the basis for a significant quality of life.
The brain area of ​​goodness
A group of scientists from the University of Oxford and University College London have located the brain area that appears to be related to goodness. The team, led by Dr. Patricia Lockwood, worked with a group of volunteers. They were asked to check which symbols could be beneficial for themselves and which ones could represent it for other people.
While the volunteers performed this assignment, their brains were monitored through MRI scans. The experiment revealed that subjects weighed and evaluated how symbols could help other people. They always had to determine whether each symbol was useful only to them or to others as well.
When each volunteer discovered how the symbol would help others, only one area of ​​the brain was activated: the anterior cingulate cortex.
However, goodness doesn't just depend on brain function. It must be remembered, in fact, that this wonderful organ has an enormous plasticity and it is the experiences and behaviors that set its functioning.
Goodness protects the brain
Neuropsychologist Richard Davidson conducted research for the University of Winsconsin. He did it after a trip to India: in 1992 he met the Dalai Lama, who asked him a question that struck the researcher: “I admire your work, but I think you are very focused on stress, anxiety and depression. Have you ever thought of focusing your neuroscientific studies on love, tenderness and compassion? ".
Richard Davidson has made several studies based on this question. He discovered, for example, that some brain structures can change in as little as two hours and that a calm mind generates overall well-being. And to arrive at a calm mind, it takes only two hours of meditation, time scientifically measured in his laboratory.
Later, he found that the neural circuits associated with empathy differ from those associated with compassion. To reach compassion, another form of goodness, it is necessary to go through the path of sensitivity, sympathy and empathy. On a higher level, compassion would be found. It is a further step in the ability to perceive, feel and understand the suffering of others. It presupposes a response to the suffering of others.
Davidson also found that love and tenderness increase well-being in several areas in life. In a study carried out with children and adolescents, the different brain fields that were activated when they were shown how to be more compassionate and tender were highlighted. As a result, they all showed better academic achievement and better health. The ability to be compassionate can be trained. Goodness is the result of a deep inner work.
