Abstract

Jeremy Rifkin’s recent perspective on global empathic consciousness development is summarized, then related to current global media practices. It is argued that media preoccupation with violence, commodification, and “entertainment” as its supra-ideologies does not serve well the further development of empathic regard for the peoples of the Earth and for our biosphere. The central nervous system extensions (a la McLuhan) of the global Western media empire have been drawn excessively from the lower and more primitive brain regions, the “reptilian” brain and the “fight-and-flight” reactivity of the limbic system, and it is time to up-level future extensions out into the world consciousness system. The notion of “mass communication hope” is raised, and eight recommendations to concerned mass communication scholars are made in response to the question “What can we do?”: (1) we can promote dialogue on ethical / neuroethical issues; (2) we can further question underlying media assumptions; (3) we can accelerate the call for media reform; (4) we can catalogue, comment upon, and publicize existing prosocial media themes, scenes, and images; (5) we can pursue further prosocial media research; (6) we can link to positive psychology research efforts; (7) we can synthesize diverse strands of prosocial research across disciplinary lines; (8) we can stimulate and facilitate ongoing dialogue on what is needed. The hope and aim is to help meet human and planetary needs for wholeness, empathy, depth of awareness, and harmony of all being.