Our pre-existing, selfless instincts (inherited from a cooperative primate past) clashed with our newly evolved conscious intellect, which needed to experiment and understand the world.
By biologically explaining why the intellect had to rebel to find knowledge, Griffith argues that the "guilt" of being human is removed, allowing for the psychological rehabilitation of the species. Key Themes & Insights FREEDOM: The End Of The Human Condition
Explains how humans acquired their moral soul through a long process of maternal nurturing, citing the cooperative behaviour of bonobos as evidence. Defines "God" as the teleological, universal drive toward
Defines "God" as the teleological, universal drive toward "Integrative Meaning"—the tendency for matter to organize into ever-larger, stable wholes. The Core Thesis: Instinct vs
is a definitive treatise by Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith that claims to provide the "holy grail" of biological insight: a first-principle explanation for why humans are capable of both immense love and extreme destruction. Published in 2016, the book argues that humanity’s "upset" state is a psychologically healable condition rather than an immutable biological flaw. The Core Thesis: Instinct vs. Intellect