Great article in The Science Times.
"Reductionism misses something crucial—the psychological dimension of human behavior...It is precisely [the] role of consciousness in shaping human psychology that Griffith's explanation confronts head-on."
https://t.co/0gMIHqImQC
The spirit of Anzac, Freedom and "Bringing Light Into the Dark": On Air with Cheryl Lacey
The deeper narrative and meaning of Anzac: Advancing the human journey to find sufficient knowledge to solve the human condition and end injustice.
I recently joined Educationist @cheryllaceydsj again on her weekly radio show ‘Leading Education’, broadcast on 88.9 @WynFM.
Our conversation explores two broad and related topics:
· The deeper reason the Anzac story and spirit continue to resonate strongly. The purpose of the human journey has been to acquire knowledge, ultimately self-knowledge, to realise the objective of explaining and solving the human condition, and to end injustice and suffering. The spirit and sacrifice embodied in Anzac was not to preserve freedom as an end in itself; rather, freedom is a means to the end of realising this ultimate objective of the human journey.
· The arbitrary divisions between nations, cultures and ethnic groups that all too easily end in prejudice and conflict. In contrast, by applying the lens of the human condition, we can recognise and explain how and why we are all variously psychologically ‘upset’—as individuals, nations and cultures—depending on how long and intensely we have been in the crucible of the human journey, free of prejudice and polarisation.
I discuss these issues applying the breakthrough insights of Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith and the World Transformation Movement (@World_Transform), a not-for-profit organisation established to promote Griffith’s treatise on the subject of the human condition.
Please let me know how this conversation resonates with you.
Interview Highlights
0:00 – Recognising the relevance and need to have conversations about Anzac outside of ANZAC Day.
0:32 – Why do we attend the pre-dawn memorials on ANZAC Day? Why is our Parliament oriented to the Australian War Memorial? Why did young men enlist?
2:00 – There’s a deeper narrative beyond concepts of adventure, self-validation, and mateship. Beyond the motives of duty, patriotism, virtue and values.
2:40 – Honouring those who kept the nation functioning during wartime.
3:20 – The work of Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith and the World Transformation Movement (WTM).
4:05 – The deeper meaning of Anzac is preserving and enabling progress in the human journey to acquire knowledge, ultimately to solve the human condition.
5:00 – The shared intuitive awareness that tyrannical regimes threatened the progress of the human journey toward the realisation of this objective.
5:20 – It is the underlying awareness of this greater purpose that accounts for the sacrifice, courage and hardiness.
6:06 – Freedom is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end: it’s a precursor to successfully continuing the search for knowledge in order to solve the human condition.
6:30 – ANZAC Day aligns and connects us with this deeper narrative and the responsibility that accompanies the hard-won freedoms.
8:10 – War encapsulates the paradox of the human condition: despite the horror and imperfection, humanity has continued to strive forward.
9:15 – 2025 ANZAC Day dawn service: Let us be ‘worthy of their sacrifice’ and ‘work for the coming new light into the dark places of the world’.
10:45 – Protecting freedom such that future generations might ‘pierce the dark’: resolve the human condition, end injustice and conflict.
12:00 – War as a time of light, a fight for freedom and a healthy human condition. Tonga recognises and honours ANZAC Day.
14:25 – The biological and psychological development of our species, and applying the lens of the human condition when comparing nations, cultures and ethnic groups.
15:30 – At various stages of the human journey, different cultures have taken up the mantle of pursuing knowledge, to fulfill the potential of our fully conscious mind.
16:30 – We have a vocabulary to discuss our shared psychological ‘upset’ while avoiding prejudice, division and conflict.
17:20 – We don’t render over the differences, but at the same time no one is superior or inferior in fundamental worth and dignity.
17:50 – We are all variously psychologically ‘upset’ depending on how long and intensely we have been in the crucible of the human journey.
Read the transcript on Substack https://t.co/vQ0ftfcXua
#HumanCondition #ANZACDay #LeadingEducation #WynFM #BringingLightIntoTheDark
Fascinating to see the Dutch and Belgians at the forefront of this growing wave of support. From Bokma on @zomergasten to the ever expanding WTM Centres, there’s a real appetite for ideas that go deep into what it means to be human. Big shift happening.
https://t.co/QfOEYNoGzc
“Humans, in particular men, are fundamentally worthwhile, in fact, heroic.” On Air with Cheryl Lacey
I recently had the pleasure of talking live on air with Educationist Cheryl Lacey @cheryllaceydsj as one of her guests on her no-nonsense and topical weekly show ‘Leading Education’, on 88.9 @WynFM.
Our conversation explores the psychological roots of aggression, the misunderstood nature of men, and the mental health challenges that men—particularly those in regional and rural communities—often face.
Please share your feedback in the comments.
The following timeline outlines the topics discussed in the 18-minute piece.
Cheryl introduces my involvement in the World Transformation Movement (WTM), the human condition, and my support for the work of Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith, highlighting the relevance of the human condition, particularly in the context of the mental health challenges faced by men in regional and rural areas.
1:00 – Reading Beyond The Human Condition (1988) by Jeremy Griffith while completing a degree in Rural Science @UniNewEngland, Armidale in the early 1990s.
2:20 – The “light bulb” moment: Jeremy Griffith explains why humans, in particular men, are fundamentally worthwhile, in fact, heroic.
3:20: The shift from being critical to compassionate of human behaviour and excited that we can move beyond the human condition.
4:35 – Is the human condition, our capacity for war, aggression and competition in our DNA, and connected with dominance hierarchy and aggression in common chimpanzees?
5:20 – Griffith argues that humans are competitive, brutal, and aggressive due to a psychological reason, and our instinctual heritage as a species is to be cooperative, loving, and selfless.
6:50 – Griffith points to our close primate cousins, the bonobos, who are highly cooperative, social and nurturing in support of this contention.
8:05 – 2 million years ago, our fully conscious thinking mind emerged and conflicted with our instincts, the result—the human condition.
10:10 – The words narcissism and jealousy recognise that our capacity for divisiveness is psychologically derived, and this can now subside through healing our psychosis.
12:15 – How does the human condition tie in with the isolation of men, in particular, in regional and rural areas and the struggles they face?
13:30 – Underlying the mental health challenges, and men struggling with a sense of meaning and fulfilment, is the deeper dilemma of the human condition.
14:40 – Men are living with a sense of being misunderstood, the burden of their “dark side”, and whether they are fundamentally worthwhile or not.
15:50 – We can lift “the hammer” that men have been psychologically living under: compassionately explain why men are fundamentally worthwhile despite their upset.
The transcript of this interview is on my Substack https://t.co/gBoyriV5zA
You can learn more about Jeremy Griffith’s explanation and solution to the human condition @World_Transform.
I highly recommend tuning in each Wednesday morning for ‘Leading Education’ with Cheryl in conversation with a wide range of high-quality commentators in and around the education space.
#JeremyGriffith
#HumanCondition
#MensMentalHealth
#RuralScience
World Transformation Movement — featured on an impressive initiative by veteran Ethiopian librarian & academic @MuWLibrarian https://t.co/KSpYEFLKYz
Reading Oliver Sacks reflection on the role of the natural world on the human psyche in @brainpickings made me think of Tim Macartney Snape's great article on the importance of natural walking tracks in @weareexplorers_
https://t.co/nMJ8A69I5K