#109: Why We Need More Empathy in Our World with Dr. Aysha Akhtar
“We celebrate every little thing that we can to remind us of the good in life too.” -Dr. Aysha Akhtar
Dr. Aysha Akhtar has loved animals her entire life, but it wasn’t until she was an adult that she got the opportunity to learn more about how the wellbeing of animals can benefit us and the entire world.
In her beautifully written book, Our Symphony With Animals: On Health, Empathy and our Shared Destinies, she writes about empathy and how we can apply it to animals.
Dr. Akhtar is gentle, compassionate and passionate. In this episode of Veggie Doctor Radio, I interview Dr. Akhtar about empathy and what she learned when writing her book.
We discuss:
Why and how she wrote her book “Our Symphony with Animals” and the journey she took to write it
The definition of empathy and why it is important in our world right now
Potential downsides to empathy
Why empathy can be so painful
Ways to increase empathy
Genetic differences in the ability to experience empathy
How we can foster empathy in children
Why she interviewed a serial killer and if she regrets that decision
How we can learn to be a voice for the voiceless
What she wishes more people knew
The personal habit she is most proud of
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Dr. Aysha Akhtar
More about my honored guest:
Aysha Akhtar, M.D., M.P.H., is a double-board certified neurologist and preventive medicine specialist, with a background in public health. She is the CEO of the Center for Contemporary Sciences, which is pioneering the transition to replace the use of animals in experimentation with effective human-based technologies.
Dr. Akhtar is the author of the recent book, Our Symphony With Animals. On Health, Empathy and Our Shared Destinies. Combining medicine, social sciences, and stories, her book explores how deeply the well-being of humans and animals are entwined. She is also the author of Animals and Public Health, which argues for the need for medical/health institutions to include animals as part of the “public” in public health.
Dr. Akhtar is a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. Previously she served as Deputy Director of the U.S. Army Traumatic Brain Injury Program and Commander in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Dr. Akhtar has appeared in television shows and interviewed by national media.
You can learn more at: www.ayshaakhtar.com
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