This is hyper-hype with knobs on. Part 1

The World Transformation Movement's "Bible" can't be accused of cautious understatement! Trouble is, "self-praise is no recommendation".

Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith has made what he believes to be an important proposal about the nature of the human predicament, although an assertion of fact rather than a proposal is more in keeping with the level of confidence one finds among the aficionados of the movement he has spawned, the so-called World Transformation Movement.  Griffith has received such enthusiastic accolades from his followers that it's almost as if he is some kind of religious guru ushering in another plan of salvation, decisively addressing the human predicament. Griffith's followers clearly believe that as far as the meaning of life, the universe and everything is concerned, they've found it! In fact, to be frank, The World Transformation Movement makes Donald Trump's MAGA movement look like a quite humble outfit in comparison! 

Given this hyper-hype, which a cynic like me instinctively distrusts, I thought I'd better take a closer look at The World Transformation Movement. To this end I listened to an interview of Griffith by one of his fans, Craig Conway. This interview has been published as a PDF and can be downloaded from the same link. The interview bills itself as follows:

THE Interview That Solves The Human Condition And Saves The World!

"The most important interview of all time!"

Gasp! Wow! But there's a lot more of that kind of sensational claim from whence it came. Underneath the title we read this:

The transcript of acclaimed British actor and broadcaster Craig Conway’s astonishing, world-changing and world-saving 2020 interview with Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith about his book FREEDOM: The End Of The Human Condition—which presents the completely redeeming, uplifting and healing understanding of the core mystery and problem about human behaviour of our so-called ‘good and evil’-stricken human condition—thus ending all the conflict and suffering in human life at its source, and providing the now urgently needed  road map for the complete rehabilitation and transformation of our lives and world!

Craig doesn't mince his words when praising Jeremy in his introduction to the interview:

“The turmoil and trauma of the pandemic has only amplified the now dire need in the world for a deeper, lasting solution to all the chaos and suffering in human life. And this deeper enduring solution is actually what this biologist I’m about to interview is going to provide us with. He is going to do it by explaining and solving the underlying cause of all the suffering, which is our ‘good and evil’- stricken so-called human condition.......So I don’t care what you’re doing, you need to stop and listen to this interview. In fact, I don’t care what you do for the rest of your life, if you can you just need to listen to this!.” 

OK, you might expect an actor & broadcaster to lay it on with trowel but, surprisingly, so does academic Professor Harry Prosen, former president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association: 

 “I have no doubt Jeremy Griffith’s biological explanation of the human condition in his book FREEDOM: The End Of The Human Condition is the holy grail of insight we have sought for the psychological rehabilitation of the human race. This is the book we have been waiting for, it is the book that saves the world.” 

In fact, according to Craig Conway Griffith's work has:

.... attracted the support of such eminent scientists as the former President of the Canadian Psychiatric Association Professor Harry Prosen, the esteemed ecologist Professor Stuart Hurlbert, Australia’s Templeton Prize-winning biologist Professor Charles Birch, the Former President of the Primate Society of Great Britain Dr David Chivers, Nobel Prize winning physicist Stephen Hawking, as well as other distinguished thinkers such as Sir Laurens van der Post—

The accolades just keep coming and don't stop. In the interview's PDF there are two pages of quotes from a variety of big names who have been blown away by Griffiths work. Here's a sample: 

‘In all of written history there are only 2 or 3 people who’ve been able to think on this scale about the human condition.’ Dr Anthony Barnett, Prof. of Zoology

‘FREEDOM is the book that saves the world…cometh the hour, cometh the man.’ Prof. Harry Prosen, Pres. Canadian Psychiatric Assn.

‘I am stunned and honored to have lived to see the coming of “Darwin II”’, Prof. Stuart Hurlbert, esteemed ecologist

‘Living without this understanding is like living back in the stone age, that’s how massive the change it brings is!’ Prof. Karen Riley, clinical pharmacist

‘Frankly, I am blown away by the ground-breaking significance of this work.’ Dr Patricia Glazebrook, Prof. of Philosophy

‘I’ve no doubt a fascinating television series could be made based upon this.’ Sir David Attenborough

***

So, I thought, I've just got to look into this phenomenon especially as it is making such comprehensive claims. Over the course of several posts, I'll be looking at the interview in more detail. bearing in mind the following copyright notice....

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I don't get the feeling that the WTM are afraid of an open accountable discussion of their ideas and they don't come over as a sect with something to hide. In contrast I have had contact with some religious sects that are so controlling of their content that they are inclined to threaten authors critical of their content with slapp suits. But, I'm not going to read all the legal small print that hedges WTM content: I've got better things to do; like for example probing the meaning of life, the universe and everything.  If the WTM have got a legal quibble with my analyses the onus is on them to come and find me and tell me why. For a long time, I've quoted the North American Intelligent Design movement's content and never had any trouble from them even though some of those may well be aggressive right-wing AR15 wielding Trumpites (& Putinites?). One of my big advantages is that my low profile keeps me from being noticed or being ranked as notable. 

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Well, I've listened to the interview and wasn't entirely blown away by it. In fact, I found Griffith's ideas to be not entirely coherent on the subjects of the nature of consciousness, intelligence, survivability, the freedom zero-sum game and above all it didn't take seriously enough humanity's epistemic challenges. And that's without mentioning that bugbear of all humanity, Sin, the concept which is bound up with freedom and status and which ominously has an "I" in the middle. 

I must confess I'm just a little bit cynical & suspicious of the revolutionary hype which comes left, right and center from ideologues who are all too human in their flaws. As a Christain I'm also all too aware of the triumphalism that so often afflicts my own sub-culture, but even so, many Christians are aware that their beliefs come with many unsolved problems and enigmas and would be very embarrassed by hype as strong as we see coming from the WTM. Christianity hasn't swept the board of problems; rather it points, hopefully, in the right direction. 

Typically, the WTM brings to mind all those false dawns of revolutionary promise promoted by starry eyed enthusiasts. Sir Kenneth Clark's quote about some of the leaders of the French revolution is a sobering warning in this connection: Viz: ".....they suffered from that most terrible of all delusions; they believed themselves to be virtuous". (Civilization, The fallacies of Hope)

Let's hope that the WTM are self-critical enough to have reservations about their own philosophy.  This kind of movement, however, does tell us something important about humanity: Human beings are not like the beasts of the field who just accept their lot as a purposeless secular given; that is, that the cosmos is the way that it is, and you either like it or lump it and to hell with a probing curiosity as to meaning of it all. The WTM phenomenon tells us that when something purports to be of depth, seriousness and meaning, people, even secular people, don't need much encouragement to drink it in. It shows that underneath it all people are yearning for that "something" which addresses their deep existential yearnings for meaning & purpose. This may well be evidence of the "God shaped hole" which I think C S Lewis spoke of. 

But all in all, this kind of thing is just up my street: It impacts so many of the subjects I've explored: Viz: Evolution, Intelligent design, Artificial intelligence, Epistemology, Cosmology, Computation, Randomness, Complex adaptive systems, Systems theory, Theology, Creation & Fall, Social status studies, Marx vs Smith and above all the nature of Sin & salvation. I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy this.........