Reviews

PROFILE : JEREMY GRIFFITH CHALLENGING HUMANITY

By Kate Wilkie

JEREMY GRIFFITH is discussing some heavyweight issues regarding the future of humanity when he suddenly pauses mid sentence. “I know this is a gigantic subject area,” the author and biologist concedes. “It may seem extraordinary that these ideas are coming from the backwoods of rural Australia. But really, that is where ideas like this have to come from.”

There is no doubt that Jeremy, 57, is talking about the big stuff: the future of humanity, our capacity for good and evil, the ongoing battle of the sexes. His life work is based on writing about and promoting his biological explanation of the human condition.

Put simply, he believes that the reason humans have the capacity to be so good or so bad can be explained by our human development. He believes the aggression felt by humans is the result of two factions within everybody — the gene-based instinctive part of us struggling against the conscious self.

Supporters believe his work is as revolutionary as Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species. Big claim. And there is no doubt the one-time Geelong Grammar Student and representative rugby player, who grew up on a sheep station in central New South Wales, is genuinely passionate about his beliefs.

Jeremy describes his third book, A Species in Denial, as “a definitive account of why humans have had to live in denial of the reality of the human condition”. And he believes a bloke from the bush is more likely to be in a position to come up with fresh perspectives in this “socially confronting” line of research than ivory tower dwelling academics of Cambridge or Harvard.

“New ways of thinking are often flagged by an outsider,” he says. “Australia is one of the most sheltered and isolated places in the world, and in Australia, the most sheltered and isolated area is the bush. And so, that is where there is the ability to find the freshness needed to look into this subject.”

The Foundation for Humanity’s Adulthood — an organization set up to develop and promote Jeremy’s work — has many rural supporters, including renowned mountaineer Tim Macartney-Snape.

But his ideas have sat uneasily with some. There has been controversy and opposition, including a few heavy bodyblows from some of the media. A NSW Supreme Court jury recently found that Jeremy and Tim Macartney-Snape were both defamed in ABC TV’s Four Corners program in 1995. The jury found that Jeremy was defamed by the broadcast's portrayal of him as having no support from the scientific community.

In all, it’s been an amazing ride. After completing school, he studied science at the University of New England where he played representative rugby. He was offered a sporting scholarship to the US, but instead, chose to head to Tasmania to try to find and save the Tasmanian Tiger. That project lasted six years and was to conclude that the Tassie Tiger was indeed extinct. But Jeremy says the soulful time spent in the wilderness cemented his idealism.

These days he is committed to his life’s work. With his partner of 23 years Annie Williams, Jeremy spends a significant chunk of the year writing at his brother Simon’s property in Central West NSW.

“That’s where I feel most at home,” he admits. “The alienation of city life is not good for humans.”

A Species in Denial, FHA Publishing and Communication, RRP $34.95 

Are we in critical condition?

ANY book claiming to shed light on that all-confronting yet persistently evasive subject, the human condition, is usually worth a look.

Jeremy Griffith’s A Species In Denial is no exception. In fact, it is a must-read for anyone vaguely interested in the subject of who we are and what we are doing on this earth.

Griffith (pictured), a biologist, claims from the outset he has unlocked the key to humanity’s alienation and disillusionment, our bewilderment at being capable of such great good and yet, at the same time, great evil.

He says humankind has been in denial about the human condition, in particular why we have become competitive, egocentric and selfish when the ideal is to be co-operative and loving.

Using analysis of the revelations of first principle science, Griffith says since the dawn of consciousness in humans about two million years ago, our intellect has been engaged in a battle royal with our instincts, resulting in a deadly dilemma — are we good, and if so, why aren’t we ideally behaved?

He says being unable to answer this question has resulted in humans blocking out the whole disturbing subject. The result is a corrupted, upset state of being which seeks ever more devious ways of avoiding the confronting truth.

Having established these insights, Griffith moves on to the mammoth task of bringing humanity back from the brink of desperation and despair — no small feat indeed for one man.

Griffith, however, does so with aplomb.

Terming what he calls the “deaf effect”, Griffith says our corruption and denial have become so entrenched we don’t even realise we are fighting this monumental psychological battle.

But there is hope. Griffith says through the revelations provided by science, in particular the concept of negative entropy, we can reassign meaning and purpose to life on earth and the universe, and most importantly to our own lives.

After a hefty introduction laying the groundwork for Griffith’s theories as set out in two of his previous books, A Species In Denial is divided into several sections.

The first, “Deciphering Plato’s Cave Allegory”, delves into the Greek philosopher’s idea that humanity is living a cave-like existence, shunning the light of truth.

The next section, “Resignation”, looks at how without robust analysis of the human condition we resigned ourselves to an alienated, egocentric state, a life of denial. Griffith insists we are not born with the heavy burden of denial, rather we learn to adopt an alienated state at adolescence.

Next up is “Bringing Peace to the War Between the Sexes” and “The Denial-Free History of the Human Race”, in which Griffith outlines the all-important relationship between men and women, which he says has caused some of humanity's deepest wounds.

Meanwhile, “The Demystification of Religion” concentrates on the spiritual dimension and prophesises that through understanding of the human condition, religions will eventually become obsolete because their tenets will be finally explained and fulfilled.

The fifth essay, by renowned mountain climber Tim Macartney-Snape, talks about the Foundation for Humanity's Adulthood, the organisation set up to espouse and disseminate Griffith’s ideas.

In the end this is a difficult book to read, but through the repetition of his concepts the reader finally grasps Griffith’s meaning and, surprisingly, when this happens all kinds of questions arise, which is refreshing.

Quotes from such diverse sources as songs, poetry, science, novels, the Bible and philosophy are used liberally throughout and are helpful in understanding often difficult concepts.

Even if he is not the prophet he says he is, then at the least Griffith is trying to point us in the right direction.

He boldly brings the words innocence, love and purpose back into our vocabulary -- and in this sense A Species In Denial can be said to be a heroic work.

**GRIFFITH, Jeremy A Species In Denial Foundation for Humanity’s Adulthood, 2003 526pp $34.95 pbk ISBN 1741290007 SCIS 1135226

The thesis of this book is that humanity is in denial about the loss of its innocence in a corrupt and broken world. Young children generally live in a state of innocence until adolescence but when the truth of evil breaks into their lives then they may well be led to the precipice of suicide or beyond. For most adults they come to suppress the awfulness of the condition instead of confronting it head on. This book opens up the whole issue and demands that we as human beings work through the task to arrive at an equilibrium that will allow for full and fruitful lives. The psychological and biological stages of life are examined with great insight yet to my mind it fails to look satisfactorily at the resilience of the human spirit. I would have liked some discussion of the works of Buber, H. Richard Niebuhr, Kohlberg and Fowler to name a few who have examined the moral stages of human growth to be included. There is no doubt that this book is an important one and breathtaking in its breadth but the answer or answers to the question about the human condition have yet to be concluded. For thinking adolescents and beyond. JC

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Note - JC are the initials of the reviewer, John Cohen, the editor of Reading Time.

Customer Reviews
Avg. Customer Review :

Worthy of serious thought, April 22, 2004
Reviewer: Anna Fitzgerald from Auckland, New Zealand

Approaching ‘A Species In Denial’ as a PhD student, whose research is based in molecular biology, scepticism was almost unavoidable. Such is the in-grained methodology practiced by scientists. New ideas that challenge current schools of thought need to be proven before they are accepted. This however is hard when you are dealing with the immense subject matter broached in this book. In spite of this Griffith’s explanation seems logical and it provides a plausible basis from which to explain such human behaviours as religion and the interaction between men and women. Such behaviours have previously attempted to be accounted for in a scientific context by the reductionist theory of the ‘selfish gene’, which had its limitations.

In ‘A Species In Denial’, Griffith summarises the biology upon which his ideas are based. His earlier book ‘Free: End of the Human Condition’, details the biology. In essence, Griffith suggests the onset of the human condition was brought about by the development of consciousness. Our instinctive nature, a product, he says, of the tendency in nature to form wholes (known as ‘negative entropy’) was to be co-operative. However this newly found ability to make conscious decisions often veered us from this co-operative path, and conflict between our instinctive and conscious thoughts inevitably arose.

  Griffith proposes this clash caused us to become insecure because our instincts were in effect telling us we were ‘bad’ to deviate from their orientation. Unable to explain the biological reason why we had to diverge, we could only defend ourselves by becoming angry toward the ‘criticism’, and become preoccupied with proving our worth: in other words become egocentric.

  Griffith says that we adults are all variously living in denial of our immense insecurity and egocentricity, which in turn dictates how we now live. Whilst Griffith says this is an incredibly courageous state, it is also clearly destructive. However with understanding of the source of the insecurity the divisive compensating behaviours now become redundant.

 The subject of Griffith’s first essay is Plato’s famous ‘cave analogy’, which appears to give to support to this idea that we are all living in denial. The rest of the book deals with demonstrating the theory’s ability to explain: that often difficult period of adolescence when we transform from being children to adults, which Griffith explains as ‘resigning’ to living in this world of denial of the falseness of our egocentric driven lives; the interaction between men and women; and religion. Griffith collates the writings of many profound thinkers supporting the conclusions he draws.

 This book is thought provoking at the very least: it deals with the big issues and in no uncertain terms, claims to solve them. It is also very confronting: nobody wants to be told that they are insecure and egocentric, even though Griffith is defending that insecurity and egocentricity with his biological explanation of the source. This deserves a lot of thought.

A brave and important book, April 20, 2004
Reviewer: Marcus Rowell from Sydney, NSW Australia

A Species In Denial by Jeremy Griffith is a controversial book because it dares to look into the issue of human alienation; it dares to confront the issue of self. The book is titled “A Species In Denial” because humans have been unable to deal with the issue of self, the issue of the human condition, the extent of our divided, alienated, ‘fallen’ state.

What is so extraordinary and important is that this bringing to the surface of the issue of our incredibly divided selves is made possible by the central thesis of the book which is the biological explanation for WHY this divided self has been highly necessary. The book doesn’t condemn humans, it dignifies them. It explains that they are ‘good’ and not ‘bad’ after all. It explains the origin of, so called ‘sin’ or ‘evil’, and by so doing lifts the ‘burden of guilt’ from humanity. I suggest people are offended by the honesty of this book and fail to reach this deeper, all-important reconciling understanding in the book that makes the honesty in it both possible and necessary.

 To go outside the historic denial of the human condition necessitates heresies on many fronts. The orthodoxies are everywhere challenged in this book, but challenged they need to be. I suggest that a book of such fundamental honesty is overdue.

 When Charles Darwin presented his book, the Origins of Species, and demystified humans by linking them with animals, the establishment or orthodoxy was so angered by the heresy that it took a great deal of courage for people to focus on the science of the idea and discover its validity. Science now accepts Darwin’s Theory and in fact a great deal of scientific knowledge has been built upon it.

 I am an honours graduate in biology and have been assessing the ideas that Griffith presents in A Species In Denial and his earlier books about the human condition since 1992. I see that A Species In Denial is about human biology, about how humans evolved from an instinctive animal to a fully conscious being and how that resulted in us having to live in denial of our contradictory natures. It is this dilemma of the human condition, this issue of good and evil in the human makeup, that A Species In Denial at last reconciles. For all its audacity in exposing the extent and variety of human alienation, it is an incredibly brave & important book.

 The science behind this book is so simple that it could be assessed, evaluated and verified by school children, yet I have seen some respected scientists and academics become so offended by the outright honesty of this book, that they fail to even consider the basic scientific processes described in it.

 Response to this book is extremely polarised. We must ask ourselves why many eminent and qualified people can see such merit in A Species In Denial and others attack it so ferociously without ever tackling the ideas.

 I strongly recommend you read the book and see for yourself if this book isn’t almost unbearably honest and discover the real reason behind the extreme animosity from some people. Denials naturally resist exposure because they are so embedded, especially a denial of this scale where virtually all of humanity is involved, but our freedom as a species lies beyond living in our dungeon state of denial. More power to this book.

What an amazing book, February 10, 2004
Reviewer: Miranda Ellis

I have just finished reading A Species In Denial and I must congratulate author Jeremy Griffith for re-igniting my faith in humanity.

This book’s exploration and explanation of all aspects of what it is to be human is remarkable, in particular the essay on men and women titled “Bringing Peace to the War Between the Sexes”. It is provocative and challenges feminist and political correct thinking. It even explains that men are not what women have thought they are - monsters only interested in reproducing their own genes. It explains that men are heroes and not the villains that we thought they were of the human journey.

 I have read some of the popular literature on human psychology and this is the only book that makes sense of the many questions that I thought were unanswerable. What strikes me most is how compassionate the author is about humans, that we are worthwhile despite all our frailties. I encourage everyone to read this book as I think it is meant for everyone to read.

 But be warned this book is extremely confronting as it really makes you take a good hard look at yourself and the world around you - I am still in shock that yes I am living in denial of the human condition, sitting still in my comfort zone happily ignoring the atrocities that humans deal out to each other and nature everyday. It's given me a massive wake up call and I am excited that there is potential for a real future for humanity, not one marred by superficiality and anger. I have no doubt this book will shatter many conventional views and shake people's foundations but I am so thankful that someone actually has had the guts to write this book and then some more to go ahead and publish it.

Arriving at the gates, December 4, 2004
Reviewer: Beta  

As I write this review, tears stream down my face, so overcome have I been by this book. It is the greatest book on the planet, no wait, in the universe. In fact it is the greatest anything in the universe.

As I read the title, my mortgage was suddenly paid off. I read the opening sentence and a new car and job promotion appeared in the driveway. By the end of the first page, I was 25 again, a body like a gender neutral Adonis, and the mind of Einstein.

 I am indescribably happy, fulfilled, knowing, wise and yet, humble to a fault. I am all, yet nothing, alpha and omega.

 If you have not yet read this book, then don’t bother, just read my review and ascend, no pushing at the back please.

 To the other reviewers here, wishy-washy, non committal, with hesitant, conservative and grey praise. Have any of you actually read this book? Come on people, lift your game, this book really deserves all the praise it can get.