Community & Government

Grow as a Community Leader

Unlock Empathy & Philosophical Wisdom

Pharrell Williams and Noted Co-Instructors

The Power of Empathy

Pharrell Williams introduces you to the class and the co-instructors who will discuss the importance of empathy in their lives and their careers.

1. Meet Your Instructors 

Pharrell Williams

Ultramarathoner, bestselling author, and VP of fitness programming at Peloton

Robin Arzón

Roxane Gay

Walter Mosley

Robert Reffkin

Gloria Steinem

Cornel West

Meet Your Instructors 

In this lesson, Pharrell Williams takes you on a journey from his childhood to his successful days as an artist and the ways he found empathy along the way by using music to connect with others. 

2. Waking Up to Empathy

Waking Up to Empathy

Cornel West talks about the origins of empathy—its relationship to sympathy and how religion and empathy are interconnected. He also discusses writers Edith Stein, George Eliot, and Toni Morrison and how they tackle empathy in their work.  

3. The Evolution of Empathy

The Evolution of Empathy

Roxane Gay delves into how writing has the potential to create meaningful change in society by generating empathy in readers and Walter Mosley talks about how reading builds empathy by expanding our worldview.

4. Reaching Intellectual Diversity

Reaching Intellectual Diversity

Pharrell Williams talks about putting yourself in others’ shoes to see the bigger picture of how their lives and perspectives differ from your own. He also walks you through an exercise to help you open up to others’ feelings and experiences.

5. Changing Your Vantage Point

Changing Your Vantage Point

Gloria Steinem discusses the importance of empathy to the human experience. She delves deep into the history of Talking Circles and how they are the maximum expression of empathy and the basis for movements and creating change in the world.

6. Empathy as a Democratizing Force

Empathy as a Democratizing Force

Cornel West talks about the connection between poverty and empathy and the legacy of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty” and Martin Luther King’s “Poor People’s Campaign.”  

7. The Love Ethic

The Love Ethic

Pharrell Williams explores the ways he applies empathy to his creative process and his collaborations with other artists, while Robert Reffkin discusses how empathetic leadership can foster a more successful workplace.  

8. Working With Others

Working With Others

Robin Arzón talks about the correlation between athletes and empathy, the ways community helps us feel more empowered and connected, and how empathy is the best way to heal from loss.  

9. Extinguishing Limitations & Empowering Others

Extinguishing Limitations & Empowering Others

In this lesson, Pharrell Williams talks about the potential in all of us to build a truly equal society using empathy to fuel action, and the importance of keeping the conversation around empathy alive.  

10. Do Something

Do Something

The Power of Empathy With Pharrell Williams and Noted Co-Instructors

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