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Please note, links to all the Freedom Essays are included at the end of this essay. Open any essay to read, print, download, share or listen to (as an audio).

 

 

Freedom Essay 3

 

THE EXPLANATION of the human condition

 

By Jeremy Griffith, 2016-2018

 

In this short 14-minute video, biologist Jeremy Griffith outlines his all-important, human-race-transforming, world-saving breakthrough explanation of the human condition!

So, if you haven’t already watched this introduction to the key ‘instinct vs intellect’ explanation of the human condition, we urge you to watch it now:

 

Make and see comments here

 

This presentation also appears as Video 3 in the Main Videos towards the top of our homepage at www.humancondition.com.

 

The Transcript of this video

 

Introduction

I’m Jeremy Griffith. For the last 40 years I have dedicated my career as a biologist to understanding and explaining the human condition. Our very physiology has been driving our behaviour, which ranges from incredible acts of love to unimaginable violence and horror. But we can finally provide the scientific explanation for why this is, and through that understanding of the human condition we can free ourselves of all the guilt and uncertainty, and in turn transform ourselves and the world.

In this short video I’ll present the core explanation of the human condition and explain why up until now others have failed to offer true solutions. I will help prepare you for the confronting realities and resulting transformation that will, most wonderfully, end all the suffering and conflict in the world.

 

Part 1 The Cave

The great philosopher Plato was among the first to explore the human condition, and over 2,000 years later his writings are still relevant. Plato put forward the idea that all of humankind lives in a cave, hiding from the truth that is the human condition. In his analogy, the fire that blocks the exit of the cave is the searing painful light of truth—a light we naturally fear because it makes the unbearable imperfections of human life visible. So we hide deeper and deeper within the darkness of the cave.

 

Graphic of humans escaping a dark cave and running towards a glorious sunrise with arms outstretched in joy and celebration

 

This analogy is a perfect representation of the human condition. It shows truth can only exist outside the cave, but since our entire existence has been spent sheltered within, everywhere you look you will find nothing but a great mountain of lies—determined efforts to deny and evade the existence of the human condition. Instead of truth, false biological excuses (such as that we are victims of savage animal instincts within us) and unfounded, feel-good explanations have been pushed, each with its own ulterior motive. [For more about Plato’s cave analogy, see Video/​F. Essay 11; or chapter 1:4 of FREEDOM.]

 

Part 2 Adam Stork

So what is the human condition and how are we to truthfully explain and solve it?

Basically, when we humans developed a conscious mind some 2 million years ago, a battle unavoidably developed between it and our already established instincts. The result of this conflict between our instinct and intellect was that we became psychologically defensive, angry, alienated and egocentric—the upset state we refer to as the human condition. But now that we can explain and understand this conflict, all those insecure, defensive behaviours are obsoleted, brought to an end, and we free ourselves from the human condition.

The easiest way to understand this tragic conflict within us and its solution is to apply our situation to another species.

Imagine a stork: we’ll call him Adam. Each Summer, Adam instinctually migrates North with the other storks to breed. Since he has no conscious mind he doesn’t think about or question his behaviour, he just follows what his instincts tell him to do.

 

Adam Stork Story - 1. Storks flying before Adam became conscious

 

But what if we give Adam a large brain capable of conscious thought? He will start to think for himself, but many of his new ideas will not be consistent with his instincts. For instance, while migrating North with the other storks Adam notices an island full of apple trees. He makes a conscious decision to divert from his migratory path and explore the island. It’s his first grand experiment in self-adjustment/​self-management.

 

Adam Stork Story - 2. Storks flying as Adam becomes conscious
Adam Stork Story - 3. Conscious Adam sees an island

 

The Story of Adam Stork - 4. Disobedient Adam

Drawings by Jeremy Griffith © 1991-2016 Fedmex Pty Ltd

 

But when Adam’s instincts realise he has strayed they criticise his deprogrammed behaviour and dogmatically try to pull him back on his original course. In effect, they condemn him as being bad.

 

Adam Stork Story - 5. Conscious Adam gets criticised

 

Imagine the turmoil Adam will experience: he can’t go back to simply following his instincts; his instinctive orientations to the migratory flight path were acquired over thousands of generations of natural selection, but those orientations are not understandings. Since his conscious mind requires understanding through experimentation, inevitably a war breaks out with his instincts.

Ideally at this point, Adam’s conscious mind would sit down and explain to his instincts why he’s defying them. He would explain that the gene-based, natural selection process only gives species instinctive orientations to the world, whereas his nerve-based, conscious mind, which is able to make sense of cause and effect, needs understanding of the world to operate.

 

Adam Stork Story - 6. Conscious Adam’s talk with his instincts

 

But Adam doesn’t have this self-understanding. He’s only just begun his search for knowledge. In fact, he’s not even aware of what the problem actually is. He’s simply started to feel that he’s bad, even evil.

So, tragically, while searching for understanding, three things unavoidably happened. Adam defensively retaliates against the criticism, he tries to deny it and block it out of his mind, and he desperately seeks any reinforcement he can find to relieve himself of the negative feelings. He has become angry, alienated and egocentric, a psychologically upset state we call the human condition.

Adam’s intellect or ‘ego’ (which is just another word for the intellect since the Concise Oxford Dictionary defines ‘ego’ as ‘the conscious thinking self’ (5th edn, 1964)) became ‘centred’ or focused on the need to justify itself—Adam became ego-centric, selfishly preoccupied aggressively competing for opportunities to prove he is good and not bad, to validate his worth, to get a ‘win’; to essentially eke out any positive reinforcement that would bring him some relief from criticism and some sense of worth. He unavoidably became self-preoccupied or selfish, and aggressive and competitive.

 

Angry and egocentric Adam Stork in conflict with and blocking out the criticism from his is instinctive self

 

Basically suffering psychological upset was the price we conscious humans had to pay for our heroic search for understanding. In the words from the song The Impossible Dream from the musical the Man of La Mancha, we had to be prepared to ‘march into hell for a heavenly cause’ [lyrics by Joe Darion, 1965]. We had to lose ourselves to find ourselves; we had to suffer becoming angry, alienated and egocentric until we found sufficient knowledge to explain ourselves.

The Biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden accurately describes the primary situation involved in our human condition of the psychologically upsetting battle that emerged between our instincts and our conscious intellect’s search for knowledge. It says Adam and Eve/​we took the ‘fruit’ (Genesis 3:3) ‘from the tree of knowledge’ (Gen. 2:9, 17) and were ‘disobedient’ (the term widely used in descriptions of Gen. 3). In other words, we developed a conscious mind and free will. But in that pre-scientific story it says Adam and Eve then became perpetrators of ‘sin’ (Gen. 4:7) and as a result were ‘banished…from the Garden of Eden’ (Gen. 3:23) state of our species’ original innocence for having become ‘evil’ (Gen. 3:22), whereas this scientific presentation says, ‘No, no, that story got it wrong’.

 

A painting depicting Adam and Eve standing naked below the tree of knowledge eating the forbidden apple

Adam and Eve
by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1526)

A color lithograph depicting the angel Jophiel banishing Adam and Eve from paradise, the Garden of Eden

Adam and Eve cast out of Paradise, from Old Testament Stories
pub. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London (c.1880)

 

Adam and Eve are actually the heroes of the whole story of life on Earth because surely the conscious mind is nature’s greatest invention and to be given the task of searching for understanding while the whole world’s condemning you was the hardest and toughest of tasks—because that condemnation was universal. All the other innocent storks are condemning the search for knowledge, and since all of nature, the rain, the clouds, the trees, other animals, are all associated with our original instinctive self, the whole world, in effect, ganged up on Adam and Eve/​i.e. us humans—and yet all the time we were good and not bad but we couldn’t explain why, but now at last we can.

Our species has lived with the human condition for some 2 million years—the probable time we have been conscious—and it’s taken tremendous courage to withstand the relentless criticism from our instincts. But finally the knowledge that science has given us of the difference between instinctive orientations and conscious understandings allows us to explain that we didn’t deserve this criticism—that we conscious humans are good and not bad after all.

And significantly, now that we are able to understand from scientific first principles that upset is not an ‘evil’, worthless, bad state, but an immensely heroic state, we can know that while, inevitably, all humans are variously upset from their different encounters with, and degrees of engagement in, humanity’s epic search to find knowledge, ultimately for self-knowledge, understanding of the human condition, ALL HUMANS ARE EQUALLY GOOD. Everyone is variously angry, egocentric and alienated, but everyone is good, and not just good but a hero of the story of life on Earth! So no longer do we have to rely on dogmatic assertions that ‘all men are created equal’ purely on the basis that it is a ‘self-evident’ truth, as the United States’ Declaration of Independence asserts, because we can now explain, understand and know that the equality of goodness of all humans is a fundamental truth. We can now understand why everyone is equally worthy, and that no one is superior or inferior. Indeed, through this understanding, the whole concept of good and bad disappears from our conceptualisation of ourselves.

Yes, and best of all, through this clarifying insight all our psychologically defensive angry, alienated and egocentric behaviour—which has been destroying both ourselves and our world—IS obsoleted, made redundant. We are redeemed. The great burden of guilt has been lifted from the human race, and that old insecure, upset life that went with it is over—which means we go from living with the trauma of the human condition to living free of it. You could say that—in the nick of time—we humans have won the race between self-destruction and self-understanding!

 

Angry embattled Adam Stork transforming to happy liberated Adam Stork

 

I want to mention that there have been many thinkers throughout history who have, like Moses in his Garden of Eden story, recognised that our psychologically upset human condition is a result of us humans becoming conscious and at odds with our species’ particular cooperative and loving, Edenic, moral instincts, but, as I said, it wasn’t until science revealed the difference between instinctive orientations and conscious understandings that we were finally in a position to explain that humans are actually good and not bad. The instinct vs conscious intellect explanation of the human condition is actually very obvious, and it shows just how wrong and absurd the old excuse is that ‘we are competitive and aggressive because we have savage animal instincts’! I present a short history of the many thinkers who have recognised the true ‘instinct vs intellect’ elements involved in the human condition in the next Video/​F. Essay 4. Also, you can read a detailed explanation of what instincts and consciousness actually are in paragraphs 247–248 of FREEDOM.

 

Part 3 Coping

As you work through this material, expect to find some extremely confronting revelations. There will be times where you may feel it’s easier to go back to denying the human condition rather than facing it. As a species, we have been hiding in Plato’s dark cave of denial and evasion for so long that when the blinds are suddenly drawn and we see the liberating explanation of our condition, that revealing light can be overpowering as the dishonesty and horrible truths of humankind are exposed all at once.

But there is an immensely relieving and easy way of coping with the arrival of this liberating understanding. As emphasised, once we know that our angry, alienated and egocentric condition is finally explained and defended, there’s no longer any need to continue perpetuating it. In fact, with this knowledge in place it would be irresponsible to continue along that old road. There is an unburdened life waiting for all of us outside the cave in the warm, relieving sunlight, free of the human condition. [Read more about how everyone’s lives can be immediately transformed in F. Essay 15, and how to manage the inevitable shock of change that the arrival of understanding of the human condition brings in F. Essay 16.]

 

Graphic of humans escaping a dark cave and running towards a glorious sunrise with arms outstretched in joy and celebration

 

Part 4 Freedom

Now that you have a slightly better understanding of the human condition and what to expect, I urge you to continue with your digestion of this explanation. Everything you need to know is in my book FREEDOM and its condensation, Transform Your Life And Save The World, both of which you can download for free from this website (www.humancondition.com), or purchase from bookstores such as Amazon. We have also set up the World Transformation Movement, a non-profit organisation offering free support, context and community for everyone. The human condition has caused unmentionable suffering, and held us back as a species for millions of years. It’s time to take our power back and start living to our species’ fabulous real potential—and transform our world.

 

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The recommended introduction to the biological explanation of the human condition is THE Interview, and for further reading we recommend chapter 3 of FREEDOM.

Also, F. Essay 53: The instinct vs intellect is the obvious and real explanation of the human condition, as all these great thinkers evidence (a condensation of which appears next in Video/F. Essay 4) demonstrates how readily apparent the instinct vs intellect elements of the human condition are when someone is prepared to think honestly and truthfully about the subject.

Also, the ability to acknowledge in a non-judgmental, not-condemning-of-upset, non-prejudiced way the differences in upset between individuals, genders, ages, generations, races (ethnic groups), countries, civilisations and cultures because we can now understand that upset is not a bad, inferior, unworthy state but an immensely heroic one, is fully explained and described in F. Essay 28 and in chapter 8:16E of FREEDOM.

 

Discussion or comment on this essay is welcomed—see below.

 

 

Please Note, if you are online you can read, print, download or listen to (as a podcast) THE Interview, The Great Guilt, The Great Transformation or any of the following Freedom Essays by clicking on them, or you can find them all at www.humancondition.com.

 

INTRODUCTION TO THE EXPLANATION & RESOLUTION OF THE HUMAN CONDITION: THE Interview That Solves The Human Condition And Saves The World! | The Great Guilt that causes the Deaf Effect | The Great Transformation: How understanding the human condition actually transforms the human race | Freedom Essay 1 Your block to the most wonderful of all gifts | 2 The false ‘savage instincts’ excuse | 3 THE EXPLANATION of the human condition | 4 The ‘instinct vs intellect’ explanation is obvious – short | 5 The transformation of the human race | 6 Wonderfully illuminating interviews | 7 Praise from Prof. Prosen | 8 “How this ends racism forever” | 9 “This is the real liberation of women” | 10 What exactly is the human condition? | 11 The difficulty of reading FREEDOM and the solution | 12 One hour summarising talk | 13 The WTM Deaf Effect Course | 14 Dishonest biology leads to human extinction | 15 How your life can immediately be transformed | 16 The Shock Of Change | THE BOOKS: 17 Commendations & WTM Centres | 18 FREEDOM chapter synopses | 19 FREEDOM’s significance by Prof. Prosen | 20 The genius of Transform Your Life | THE OTHER KEY BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS: 21 How did we humans acquire our altruistic moral conscience? | 22 Fossil discoveries evidence our nurtured origins | 23 Integrative Meaning or ‘God’ | 24 How did consciousness emerge in humans? | 25 The truthful biology of life | • Survey seeking feedback | MEN & WOMEN RECONCILED: 26 Men and women reconciled | 27 Human sex and relationships explained | THE END OF RACISM: 28 The end of racism | 29 Can conflict ever end? | RESIGNATION: 30 Resignation | 31 Wordsworth’s all-revealing great poem | MORE ON THE TRANSFORMATION: 32 More on the Transformation | 33 Jeremy on how to become transformed | THE END OF POLITICS: 34 This understanding ends the polarised world of politics | 35 Death by Dogma left-wing threat | 36 Saving Western civilisation from left-wing dogma | 37 The meaning of superhero and disaster films | RELIGION DECIPHERED: 38 Noah’s Ark explained | 39 Christ explained | 40 Judgment Day finally explained | 41 Science’s scorn of religion | MEANING OF ART & CULTURE: 42 Cave paintings | 43 Ceremonial masks explained | 44 Art makes the invisible visible | • Second survey seeking feedback | 45 Prophetic songs | 46 Anne Frank’s faith in human goodness fulfilled | 47 Humour and swearing explained | 48 R.D. Laing’s fearless honesty | ABOUT BIOLOGIST JEREMY GRIFFITH: 49 Jeremy’s biography | 50 Australia’s role | 51 Sir Laurens van der Post’s fabulous vision | 52 Jeremy’s children’s book A Perfect Life | 53 The ‘instinct vs intellect’ explanation is obvious – long | 54 The accusation of hubris | DO WE FAIL OR DO WE MAKE IT? 55 Endgame for the human race | 56 Why there have been ferocious attacks on the WTM | 57 Magnificence of the Transformed State – video 1 | 58 Magnificence of the Transformed State – video 2 | MARKETING: 59 Shouldn’t the WTM’s website be toned down? | 60 The crime of ‘ships at sea’ ‘pocketing the win’ | GENERAL DISCUSSIONS BY JEREMY: 61 General Discussion by Jeremy Aug. 2018 | 62 Jeremy’s Masterpiece Presentation Feb. 2019 | HEALTH & HEALING: 63 Pseudo therapy/healing | 64 Real therapy/healing | From here on are Transformation Affirmations and More Good Info Emails

 

 

These essays were created in 2017-2023 by Jeremy Griffith, Damon Isherwood, Fiona
Cullen-Ward, Brony FitzGerald & Lee Jones of the Sydney WTM Centre. All filming and
editing of the videos was carried out by Sydney WTM members James Press & Tess Watson
during 2017-2021. Other members of the Sydney WTM Centre are responsible for the
distribution and marketing of the videos/​essays, and for providing subscriber support.

 

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