Mindfulness and Mercy Reconsidered through Shakespeare

Faculty, students and community members are invited to join the ASU Institute for Humanities Research in the next segment of our Health Humanities Initiative lecture series. 

Using themes from William Shakespeare’s "The Merchant of Venice" and "The Tempest," Daniel Hall-Flavin examines the relationship between mindfulness and mercy in the context of bringing presence into the interpersonal space between healthcare provider and patient. In this presentation, Hall-Flavin discusses the concept of mercy as a bi-directional moral enterprise necessary for the sustainability of both physician and patient in the journey that is chronic illness.

Mercy is a spiritual companion that promotes generous listening, informed and critical thought and the integrative collaboration necessary to healing and thriving within the context of a life well lived. Mercy is nurtured by the arts and humanities and as such, these disciplines become part of the moral medical enterprise.

Daniel Hall-Flavin is an associate professor of psychiatry and psychology and medical director of the Mayo Clinic's Dolores Jean Lavins Center for Humanities in Medicine.