A pat on the back, a caress of the arm--these are everyday, incidental gestures that we usually take for granted. But after years spent immersed in the science of touch, University of California, Berkeley, psychology professor Dacher Keltner has found that the power of touch is much more profound than we usually realize. In this Greater Good magazine essay, he argues that touch is our primary language of compassion, and a primary means for spreading compassion. He reports on a wave of studies that have documented incredible emotional and physical health benefits that come from touch, suggesting that touch is truly fundamental to human communication, bonding, and health.
