Overview Of The Human Condition
An overview of the ideas
Charles Darwin explained the origin of the variety of life on Earth and connected humans with nature. But there biology has been stalled, unable to take the next step of explaining the human condition.
It is this question of questions that those involved in the World Transformation Movement (WTM) maintain biologist Jeremy Griffith has answered .
Paradoxically his answer defends and dignifies humans in the most remarkable way. It lifts the burden of guilt, making possible our species’ psychological rehabilitation; the real repair of ourselves and our planet.
The biology
The understanding of the human condition explains the difference between our instincts and intellect and the effect that difference has had on our behaviour. It describes how the anger and selfishness felt by humans is the result of these two factions within ourselves—the gene-based instinctive learning system struggling against the nerve-based intellect’s capacity to understand.
This conflict, which started some two million years ago when consciousness emerged, causes humans to live with an undeserved sense of guilt that is characterised by competition and aggression. Once guilt is removed by being explained—which the WTM says is now possible—the competition and aggression in humans naturally subsides.
Discussion
Jeremy Griffith’s thesis is grounded in first principle biology, there is no mysticism, faith, or belief element to the ideas. The WTM is not talking about a way of restraining our aggressive and divisive natures through discipline or transcendence—rather it is claiming to actually remove these aspects from our make-up through logic driven compassionate resolution of the psychological dilemma that produced them.
Catch phrases that we are familiar with, like ‘human potential’ and ‘self esteem’, stress this yearning for self-justification and self-realisation, but the ability to feel contented ultimately depends on self-understanding—understanding why we are competitive, aggressive and selfish rather than the ideal of being cooperative, loving and selfless.
While the WTM claims to bring understanding to why we are aggressive and divisive, it is not saying it condones such behaviour, rather understanding the causes heals it by bringing compassion to the situation. The WTM maintains that the ultimate objective of the human journey has been to find this greater dignifying understanding of ourselves.