Humans are hard-wired to care for and protect each other. Becoming kinder is just like riding a bike As a species, homo sapiens have a bad reputation. War, environmental pillage, weapons of mass destruction – if the human race was applying for the job as planetary custodian, we wouldn’t even make it through to the interview stage. But maybe we are not as bad as we think. According to the author and psychologist Steven Pinker, human society has become kinder over the course of recorded history, perhaps not in a linear fashion, but in absolute terms. He argues in The Better Angels of Our Nature that over the long arc of history, violence – including murder, cruelty and war deaths – have declined. Jackie Bailey is an award-winning author whose nonfiction book about spirituality, ‘The Outrageous Good Fortune of Living’ (HarperCollins), will be released in 2026. Jackie works as a funeral celebrant and pastoral care practitioner, supporting people to navigate death and dying Continue reading...