Freedom 4
The End of the Human Condition
- ISBN:
- 9781741290288
- 9781741290288
- Category:
- Developmental biology
- Format:
- Paperback
- Publication Date:
- 01-01-2016
- Language:
- English
- Publisher:
- WTM Publishing & Communications Pty, Limited
- Country of origin:
- Australia
- Dimensions (mm):
- 233.93x155.96mm
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Reviews
4 Reviews
Reading ‘FREEDOM: The End of the Human Condition’ by Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith is the most important thing I have ever done in my life. I believe all human beings have pondered the ultimate question of the meaning of life. But the question of life’s meaning is one we rarely allow ourselves to ponder deeply, perhaps because doing so often leads to unsettling or even depressing implications. We tend to conclude that life itself has no inherent meaning, and that each person must create their own. After all, how could there be any inherent purpose behind all the chaos, suffering, hatred, sickness, and so-called ‘evil’ that seem to saturate our world?
When I read Freedom, I experienced a moment of clarity that profoundly changed my understanding of that ultimate question. I discovered that there is, and always has been, immense meaning underlying not only my own life, but the life of every human who has ever lived.
In FREEDOM, Griffith presents a deeply accountable and hopeful scientific explanation for the true root cause of the contradictory nature of human behaviour and the resulting psychological turmoil we’ve each privately wrestled with, the question of whether our existence is meaningful or worthwhile and whether we humans are fundamentally good or bad.
The answer is that humanity has been on a heroic journey to find understanding, ultimately self understanding of our psychologically troubled human condition. This search inevitably caused a battle to break out within us between our instinctive, ideal behaviour expecting self and our insightful, fully conscious intellect. Finding understanding of that inner conflict reconciles these two aspects of ourselves and brings peace to the turmoil.
The search for this self understanding has been the great underlying meaning of human existence and I realised that the very understanding humanity has been seeking was in my hands as I read FREEDOM. Bringing this understanding to the world, before it's too late and our collective psychological distress overwhelms us is I believe, the true task facing humanity today. This understanding belongs to everyone, it brings with it the fulfilment, meaning and the peace we have all been searching for. As you can probably tell I would say it's an excellent read.
What if we didn't inherit savage instincts from our primate ancestors, what if we inherited loving instincts? In many ways that is the start point of Griffith’s examination of the human condition. However that raises an obvious question, ‘if our aggression isn't instinctive, where does it come from?’. The answer, according to Griffith, is from a psychosis which arose when our conscious mind emerged and tried to wrest the management of our lives from those instincts. Heady stuff, but a good journey for those with an interest in challenging ideas about the human condition.
Having heard about this book from a friend I have long trusted, I made the purchase and was initially sceptical but then very impressed with its logic.
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