The Connection Between Compassion and Success

Chris Kukk on stage

The Gunnery welcomed Christopher Kukk, Ph.D., a professor of political science/social science at Western Connecticut State University and the HarperCollins author of “The Compassionate Achiever,” to campus February 14 as part of the 2020 Speaker Series.
 

Kukk, who is also the co-host of The Compassionate Achiever Podcast, founding director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity and Innovation at WCSU, and director of the Kathwari Honors Program, spent the day visiting classes and spoke at an all-school assembly about what compassion is, why it’s important and how to cultivate it in our daily lives. His presentation incorporated anecdotes from his personal experiences as a student-athlete, a Wall Street consultant, a counterintelligence agent for the U.S. Army, a Fulbright Scholar in Estonia, and a devoted husband of 32 years.

He touched on the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Charles Darwin, noting that Darwin’s contributions to the theory of evolution did not include coining the phrase “survival of the fittest.” Darwin actually argued against that premise in “Descent of Man,” asserting that the species that will move up the evolutionary ladder most effectively and efficiently are not the “fittest” but those who are sympathetic to each other. By “sympathetic,” Kukk believes Darwin was referring to the qualities of altruism, generosity and compassion.

“When we look around our world, things like compassion, what’s considered ‘soft,’ can overcome some hard problems,” he said, citing evidence from the fields of history, nature and business.

Kukk also spoke about the neuroscience of compassion, what happens in the brain when we feel compassion, and how compassion can help us solve problems by helping us to listen, understand and connect to others. He cited research by Tania Singer, Ph.D., who used MRI studies to show that when we think empathetically, our brain releases cortisol, the same hormone released when we are in pain. When we think compassionately, the brain releases oxytocin, the same hormone released when we are in love. That, in turn, stimulates the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, facilitating feelings of happiness and optimism, and leading to success, Kukk said.

“Compassion’s strength as a power source for fostering individual and organizational success stems from the fact that it not only is derived from the same neural networks as love, but is also centrally focused on the concern and care for others,” Kukk said in his book. “When empathy is used as the source for helping another, the central motivation is to alleviate your own pain and stress.”

In his presentation, and in response to questions from students, Kukk explained how practicing compassion can lead to success in everything from academics to sports. Asked if it’s possible to have too much compassion, he said he doesn’t believe so, and that is the subject of his next book.

Kukk received his Ph.D. in political science from Boston College and his B.A. from Boston University. He was an international security fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, a research associate for Cambridge Energy Research Associates, and has provided the Associated Press, National Public Radio, “The Economist magazine,” and other media outlets with analysis on a wide range of topics and issues. Find his latest TED Talk here.

The next program in the Speaker Series will be held on April 9 at 7 p.m. in the Tisch Family Auditorium featuring Travis Tucker, Ph.D., program director at Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center in Litchfield. Tucker is the former Associate Director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture, and a former philosophy professor at the University of Hartford and the University of New Haven. He is also the founder of Students of Character, a not-for-profit organization seeking to bring philosophically-based character education to low-income students throughout Connecticut and the mid-Atlantic region.

Events in The Gunnery Speaker Series are open to the community. Admission is free. To register, please call (860) 350-0177.

Additional Images

Chris Kukk with students and faculty

Chris Kukk, Ph.D., center, with Speaker Series Coordinator and English teacher Melissa Schomers, Aris Wang '20, Sophia Novoa '20, Joyce McFarland '20, Alex Zhang '20, and School Archivist Misa Giroux

Chris Kukk in TPACC

Top and above, Chris Kukk, Ph.D., on stage in the Tisch Family Auditorium