A Kinder World
Inspiring Global Empathy
Ingrid Leman Stefanovic author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:University of Toronto Press
Published:6th Oct '26
Should be back in stock very soon
In an era marked by polarization and social fracture, kindness and compassion are increasingly treated as liabilities rather than strengths. A Kinder World challenges this assumption, reminding us that human evolution and progress have been driven not by competition alone, but by collaboration, empathy, and care.
To build a healthy, resilient, and sustainable future, philosopher Ingrid Leman Stefanovic argues that society must renew a shared ethos of kindness, both individually and collectively. Dispelling the myth that kindness signals weakness, Stefanovic critiques the “selfish gene” narrative and reconsiders the roles of aggression and competition in human development. The book demonstrates instead how moral integrity, social justice, basic civility, and human progress are reinforced through the practice of kindness. These values find expression not only in interpersonal relationships, but also in social and cultural norms, environmental ethics, and the design of our towns and cities.
Positioning kindness as a guiding principle for the good life, A Kinder World also offers practical pathways for cultivating it in an increasingly unkind world. Drawing on educational tools and behavioural strategies, the book shows that kindness is not naïve or incidental, but a deliberate practice – and the enduring foundation of human flourishing.
"Ingrid Leman Stefanovic calls us back to what religious figures, philosophers, and scientists have tried to tell us: we can only make it through good times and bad one way: together. And that requires us to face the world with kindness. This book shows us why and how." - Bruce B. Janz, Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Central Florida
"A Kinder World gives us the framework, the examples, and the inspiration to embrace kindness, not as naivete, but as essential for our resilience. Indeed, kindness is required for the survival of the global human family." - Elizabeth May, OC, MP and Leader, Green Party of Canada
"Stefanovic makes a powerful case that human evolution has been built as much on kindness and the collaboration it inspires as on 'selfish' impulses. Inspiring, hopeful, and compelling, this book is so well written that I could not put it down." - David Miller, former mayor of the City of Toronto and Managing Director, C40 Centre
"In a wide-ranging journey across time and place, Stefanovic irrefutably shows us that to embrace global kindness is far from naive, it is our planet's only real hope. And the responsibility and power to make it so lies in our own hands, and hearts." - Alex Neve, OC, International Human Rights Lawyer and author of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World
"In a world awash with merchants of hate, this book is both timely and restorative, informed yet accessible, and is a much-needed lighthouse along the dangerous shores of celebrated avarice." - Stephen Bede Scharper, Associate Professor, School of the Environment, University of Toronto
"Ingrid Leman Stefanovic's inspiring book calling us to kindness is fierce and precisely judged. Stefanovic tells us story after story of when kindness won, leading us to conclude, as she does, that kindness can be distilled into and learned from stories. 'We cling to them,' she says, so that 'they can help us move the needle of civilization toward a different state of empathy.'" - Anne Giardini, OC, OBC, KC, Chancellor Emeritus, Simon Fraser University
"Survival of the kindest could be the subtitle for this book. Stefanovic powerfully argues that cooperation and kindness are our species' true nature. Data, facts, studies, and examples back up her contention as well as practical advice on how to use kindness to foster social justice and ultimately save our planet." - Margaret Zeidler, Founder and President, Urbanspace
ISBN: 9781487546724
Dimensions: 235mm x 159mm x 23mm
Weight: 540g
288 pages