Can There be an Emotionally Intelligent Society?

Written by Daniel Goleman on November 21, 2008 – 7:26 am -

I found an intriguing answer to this question when I made a recent visit to the picturesque seaside city of San Sebastian, capital of Gipuskoako, one of three provinces that make up the Basque area of Spain. San Sebastian also happens to be a world-class center for the development of social and emotional intelligence, due to an ambitious initiative to upgrade these human aptitudes not just in schools, but also in families, communities, and businesses.

Thirty to forty percent of schools there have curricula in social/emotional learning, and more are being phased in. There are emotional intelligence programs for parents and families, even communities. And businesses in the region are incorporating emotional intelligence into their leadership training.

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Wired to Connect: Dialogues on Social Intelligence

Daniel Goleman and today's leading thinkers in conversation:

Psychologist Howard Gardner on the nature of work that resonates with our values

Feminist author Naomi Wolf on the implications of scientific findings on the social brain for the careers of women and men alike.

Available exclusively from More Than Sound Productions:

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  • Daniel Goleman and Larry Brilliant, Part 3. “Olympic-level athletes of the heart.” Goleman on “empathic concern” and what social neuroloscience has taught us about different individuals’ capacity for compassion; Brilliant expands on the distinction between “smart” and “wise” individuals and how business tools can serve the sick and poor. Listen now.

  • Daniel Goleman and Larry  Brilliant, Part 2. “True compassion is more in how you look at the world and all of its beings, than just how you look at the one being in front of you.” Brilliant and Goleman on the well-known “Good Samaritan” parable and ways in which society as a whole can avoid such trappings. Listen now.

  • Daniel Goleman and Larry Brilliant, Part 1.  Brilliant -- medical doctor, philanthropist, humanitarian, and Executive Director of Google.org -- discusses "compassionate capitalism" in business practices. Listen now.

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