Anna Fitzgerald
With a science doctorate in molecular biology, my typical reading consists of peer reviewed journals, so I am not used to theories as contentious as this. And by contentious I'm referring to the subject matter — explaining human nature no less. Given the enormity of the topic, I was skeptical Griffith would be able to deliver, possibly doubly so given my scientific background, however the central thesis is undeniably sound, based on an understanding of nerves and genes, and it has an extraordinary explanatory power. In science the strength of a theory is related to the diversity of phenomena it can explain, which means that Griffith’s thesis is strong indeed, as it makes sense of all aspects of the human condition — it is, in a sense, the biological version of the long sought after unified theory of everything. And if Griffith does draw on sources way outside of traditional scientific discourse, it is only because the ramifications of his theory go well beyond those of traditional mainstream science. Some concepts were initially hard to swallow, such as references to women’s naivety, but as with all of Griffith’s arguments, when following the logic by which he arrives at his conclusions, they all astoundingly make sense. I would actually go further to say this book fundamentally dignifies women in a way that no feminist tract ever has. It takes an infinitely brave and deep thinker to deal with this subject matter and Griffith's thinking stacks up. A must read.
11 people found this review helpful
A Google user
This book is an avalanche of new ideas that build on each other and so be prepared, it’s a lot to take in! But it contains truly extraordinary revelations that will blow your mind and change the way you view the world. Jeremy Griffith puts forward a unique explanation of human behavior based on the difference between how instincts and a conscious mind operate, and what inevitably occurs when consciousness emerges in the presence of pre-existing instincts. He suggests that all the dysfunction and trauma exhibited in human activity today can be sourced to the unavoidable conflict that emerged 2 million years ago when consciousness developed in early humans and challenged our instincts. This simple proposition is backed up by a wealth of data, from anthropology and primatology to great literature and even pop culture. He suggests that human instincts were to be cooperative and loving, not brutish and aggressive—the opposite of what we’ve generally been taught for decades—and puts forward the explanations from that perspective. It’s absolutely fresh, unique, challenging and incredibly insightful. These core propositions form the basis of this sweeping book. Liberate yourself: read this book.
4 people found this review helpful
Genevieve Salter
The great underlying paradox that this book brings reconciliation to is how we could be capable of so much love and cooperative selflessness on the one hand and so much ‘evil’ on the other. Using a simple analogy Griffith explains this paradoxical situation and how it arose in our human ancestors two million years ago. He explains how the development of a conscious mind in the human species led to a clash between our instincts and this newly developed intelligence. Chapter 5 of FREEDOM documents the fossil evidence confirming his theory, including how we developed a conscious, thinking brain in the first place—all just fascinating stuff, especially his treatise on the cooperative and matriarchal bonobos. But our darkness is undeniable with terrifying levels of depression in teenagers, rising levels of obesity, increasing unrest in the Middle East and indifference in the West, alarming rates of suicide, murder, pedophilia—no one can argue that we are setting ourselves up for a world of unbounding happiness in the future. For me, the most significant part of Jeremy Griffith’s explanation is that, despite the scary depths of us, despite the horrible things we do to others, ourselves and our planet, in fact, despite all the evidence to the contrary, we are an incredibly heroic species and there has been a reason for ALL of this. In the author’s words ‘We were given the hardest, toughest of tasks, and against all the odds we completed it. Humans are the champions of the story of life on Earth. We are so, so wonderful!’ (par 60) That most difficult of tasks was to champion the use of our fully conscious mind, and we’ve succeeded. The world seems so silent about the depths of our sorrow. In fact, growing up, no one told me anything about how the world works and why there seemed to be so much unhappiness, why people fought with each other or were greedy or cruel, why sex and beauty was such a big deal etc etc, but this book does. The concept of Resignation, as with so many concepts throughout FREEDOM, releases us all from our lonely, individual corners of a dark room and introduces us to the warm light of this truthful understanding. It IS like breaking free from an underground prison as Plato described it, his allegory being referred to often in the book. For my life, reading FREEDOM was a total game-changer. I cannot love this book more because it is so needed and it’s so real in what it delivers---FREEDOM. You should push past any initial scepticism or confrontation you may feel when reading as you will be rewarded with the precious jewel that FREEDOM is. It can be a difficult journey but oh is it worth it, not just for you but for the human race and all of life.
