The mass perception of humanity seems to be overwhelmingly negative. Stories about awful things hit the news daily and we can be fooled into thinking humans are mostly bad. It seems we are all living under the spell of the supposed Survival of the Fittest, or have we got it wrong? Research shows that Darwin, contrary to popular belief, believed communities with sympathetic people were more likely to flourish.

Human nature is often portrayed as selfish and power hungry, but research by Berkeley psychologist and founder of the Greater Good Science Centre, Dr. Dacher Keltner finds that we are hard-wired to be kind. And it’s backed up by neuroscience which shows that we are innately empathic and compassionate, even in the face of deep misfortune.