Information, Knowledge, Empathy and the Truth

Wholesome Chats— Episode 4 with Peter

This article serves as a hybrid of a script and list of questions from episode 4 of my podcast, Wholesome Chats. You can either read through the questions or listen directly to the podcast episode.

Covered in this episode:

• Empathy
• Knowledge, Information & Truth
• Science
• Geopolitics

Introducing the episode

I can’t believe this is the fourth episode of Wholesome Chats, I started this podcast as part of a challenge. I wanted to see how much closer to my goals I could get in two weeks, so I set out to release a podcast speaking to my favourite people about my favourite subjects and in those two weeks, Wholesome Chats was born.

My experience recording this podcast has been a pleasant reminder of how fortunate I am to have so many brilliant people I can invite on this podcast, and be a facilitator of thought provoking and all-around wholesome content.

One thing I would say all of my guests have in common is that they are empathetic people and they deeply care about positively contributing to the world around them—whilst getting closer to the truth.

Introducing the guest

Our guest today, Peter, is someone whose mind I would pay to simply spend a day in and be fascinated by all the wonderful dots it’s capable of connecting. Peter has been involved in fascinating research projects around the world and has a wonderful perspective on what he has observed in his journey in life so far.

Every opportunity I have had to listen to Peter share his thoughts, I’ve consistently found myself enthralled and critically thinking about his perspective.

Peter has found himself in different parts of the world, learning as he goes along about the complexities of geopolitics, knowledge, truth, information all through an incredibly empathetic lens—today we’re lucky to hear from him as to what that journey has been like.

Opening questions

Hey Peter, it’s lovely to have a Wholesome Chat with you today, tell us a bit more about you, what you do and what motivates you as a human being…

We met whilst going through the same training process at Samaritans, a charity to support people who may be going through a hard time, now we are both involved in helping others becoming Samaritans and it’s come full circle—since you became a Samaritan, I’d like to hear more about how your perception of empathy has evolved:

• What would you define empathy as?
• Is there ever a point where being empathetic isn’t the best choice? On that matter, do you believe being empathetic is a deliberate choice someone has to make or is it more of a naturally occurring trait in people?

Thinking about what you do for a living, outside of Samaritans, in which instances do you find yourself having to be most empathetic?

Your job involves dealing with a lot of information, share that knowledge and uncover the truth, connecting dots that can help make important decisions, in your view:

• Can information ever be objective, or will the medium through which it’s shared always influence the quality of the information?
• What’s the difference between having information and possessing knowledge?
• What role have both information and knowledge played in your life and work?
• How do you find the truth in information, as a researcher, what would be your process for doing that?

The way I see it, one of the most important sources of truth and objectivity in the way that we perceive it in the 21st century is the scientific method, a method described as a systematic observation, measurement, experiment, formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.

When we think about the role science has played in the modern world, in our lives, your profession and mine:

• Do you think science is the optimal method for uncovering the truth and proliferating knowledge in an effective manner that helps us solve problems as a species?
• Where do you think the boundaries of science’s ability to uncover the truth lie?

Truth doesn’t look the same in all parts of the world, and knowledge is sometimes erased, what may be true for one generation, may be completely wiped out in another.

When we think about the role of nations, governments and political bodies:

• What role do you believe governments should play in preserving knowledge, information and truth?
• In your journeys and experience researching, what role do you think it was actually played?
• If you could change anything about the status quo in relation to governments, truth, knowledge and information—what would you change?

Thank you for making the time to speak to me today Peter, I’m really grateful you made some time to be here and share your thoughts with us today. Last but not least, I will ask you the same question I ask every guest of this podcast:

• What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your life, that is worth sharing? (something unique to you)