A Question for the Holiday Season: Who among Us Identifies with All of Humanity?

Scientific American:

The holiday season is a time of giving and receiving, reflection on what is and what could be—and perhaps more than a little guilt. We all want to promote world peace and live in harmony, but what does that really mean? What does the intersection of praxis and theory look like? Is it a bumper sticker on your car, an annual donation to an international aid group, a bi-annual religious service attendance of your choice? New research attempts to quantify some of these philosophical questions. The results could shed light on everything from liberal-conservative differences to conflict resolution between Israel and Palestine.

A scale developed by psychologists Sam McFarland, Matthew Webb, and Derek Brown at Western Kentucky University measures the degree to which people identify with all humans, not just their kin, local communities, or other assorted in-groups. The Identification With All Humanity Scale (IWAH) builds off of work by the towering figures Alfred Adler and Abraham Maslow and attempts to measure active willingness to help those in need.

Read the whole story: Scientific American