What is the Human Condition?

While it’s undeniable that humans are capable of great love, we also have an unspeakable history of brutality, rape, torture, murder and war. Despite all our marvellous accomplishments, we humans have been the most ferocious and destructive force that has ever lived on Earth — and the eternal question has been ‘why?’ Even in our everyday behaviour, why have we humans been so competitive, selfish and aggressive when clearly the ideals of life are to be the complete opposite, namely cooperative, selfless and loving? In fact, why are we so ruthlessly competitive, selfish and brutal that human life has become all but unbearable and we have nearly destroyed our own planet?!

The agony of being unable to truthfully answer this fundamental question of why we are the way we are — divisively instead of cooperatively behaved — has been the particular burden of human life. It has been our species’ particular affliction or condition — our ‘human condition’.

For further description of what the human condition is, read chapter 1:2 of Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith’s 2016 book FREEDOM: The End Of The Human Condition. For the actual explanation of the human condition read chapter 1:3 of FREEDOM, or watch a short video presentation of the explanation in THE Interview or Video 3.