As therapists, counselors, and mental health advocates, we often ask: What lies at the root of human stress, emotional pain, and conflict? Why do people who are loving by nature sometimes act in ways that hurt themselves and others? And most importantly, is there a way to truly understand and heal this behavior and bring an end to this tragic cycle?
Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith, the founder of the non-profit organisation the World Transformation Movement, has devoted his life to the resolution of human suffering and transformation of society by answering these perplexing questions. His explanation of the ‘human condition’ – a term he uses to refer to the psychologically troubled state of human consciousness – is not only biologically-grounded, but at its heart, very compassionate. Griffith’s work has been described by leading psychologists and scientists as groundbreaking – even transformational – in its implications for mental health and human understanding.
What is the Human Condition?
Griffith defines the human condition as the psychological tension, and the resultant defensive behaviors, that emerged when humans first developed a conscious mind that began to challenge and question the instincts that had previously guided our behavior.
In simple terms, Griffith says that as early humans (Homo habilis) began to think, reason, and seek understanding, their actions sometimes went against their instincts, causing. friction between the two elements. This internal ‘instinct vs intellect’ conflict, he says, created a deep sense of guilt and utter confusion – and over millennia, this unresolved inner war compounded into the emotional distress, defensive responses, and alienation we see in ourselves and others today.
From this perspective, our negative behaviors – anger, selfishness, alienation – aren’t indications of inherent flaws or “badness” in our species, but symptoms of an unresolved internal struggle between our conscious mind’s need to understand and our instinctual expectations of how we “should” behave.
A Compassionate Science
Griffith’s explanation is unique in that it is grounded in biology, yet seemingly deeply humanistic. Unlike theories that focus purely on the relative immediacy of trauma, conditioning, or cognitive distortions, Griffith wants us to look at the bigger picture: our species’ evolutionary journey. He suggests that the distress we carry isn’t random or pathological – it’s the outcome of an intellectual quest for meaning that was misunderstood and misjudged by our own instincts.
So rather than condemning our behavior, Griffith’s explanation seeks to defend and dignify it. He believes our emotional pain and mental struggles are actually part of a meaningful – even “heroic” – process of our species’ development. The tragedy, he argues, is that this misunderstood inner conflict left us feeling ashamed, defensive, and alienated – and in that wounded state, we passed our unresolved pain on to others.
Trauma begets trauma
Emotional pain and defensive behaviors aren’t contained within individuals – they ripple outward, deeply affecting those around us. Whether through relationships, social environments, or cultural norms, unresolved psychological distress tends to perpetuate itself. Griffith’s explanation directly addresses this pattern, offering a framework to break the cycle – not through blame or suppression, but through understanding. Because when a psychological condition can finally be explained and defended, it can be healed. And when it’s healed in one person, it can no longer be passed on to others.
That’s a message with potentially profound implications – not just for individuals, but for families, communities, and entire societies.
Commendations and Credibility
Griffith’s work has been endorsed by a growing number of respected thought leaders in psychology, science, and education.
Professor Harry Prosen, a former president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, said: “the beauty of Griffith’s treatise is that the healing starts at the macro level of the universal human condition; the healing of the shame and blame that the whole human race has suffered from, which is non-personal and thus more easily confronted, absorbed and accepted. It brings the greater context and love to all human psychosis and suffering, and then, from under the umbrella of that safe position, everyone can gradually work inwards to their particular experience of all the imperfections in human life that have now, finally, been made sense of.”
Professor Scott Churchill, a former chair of the University of Dallas’ psychology department, has written that Griffith’s main book, FREEDOM: The End Of The Human Condition is “the book all humans need to read for our collective wellbeing.”
The famed psychologist, Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, said Griffith’s work “might help bring about a paradigm shift in the self-image of humanity.”
These commendations highlight the potential scientific and therapeutic value of Griffith’s contribution – not just in theory, but in how it helps us understand real human behavior.
What might be the ramifications of Jeremy Griffith’s treatise on mental health care?
In the counseling room, we see daily the burden of self-doubt, shame, and emotional disconnection. People blame themselves for being “not good enough”, for acting out, for not living up to who they feel they were destined to be. Griffith’s work offers a different narrative: ‘You’re not broken. You’re not bad. You’re human. And your struggle is part of a much bigger, understandable story.’
Griffith’s macro re-framing of our species’ psychology could be truly transformative counsel for both practitioners and clients, opening the door to greater self-compassion, and with it deeper healing.
Final Thoughts
In a world where so many people carry the weight of emotional confusion and self-judgment, Jeremy Griffith’s biological explanation of the human condition offers hope. It tells us that behind our struggles is a necessary and heroic epoch of our species’ development – and that by understanding this struggle, we can move forward with empathy and peace toward lasting change. Because at the heart of Griffith’s message is a truth that speaks to us all: “We are good. We’ve always been good. And now, we finally understand why.”
