What is the World Transformation Movement? An Introduction and Summary

We live in an age of escalating psychological distress — where anxiety, depression, addiction, and social breakdown have become alarmingly normal. These symptoms, however, all stem from a much deeper, largely unspoken issue: the human condition.

The World Transformation Movement (WTM) is a global not-for-profit organisation dedicated to sharing a breakthrough explanation into this core dilemma. Founded in 1983 by Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith, the WTM presents a psychosis-addressing-and-solving biological explanation of the human condition that explains the full spectrum of human behaviour — from our extraordinary capacity for love and cooperation, to our embattled state of immense anger, egocentricity, and alienation.

Understanding the Human Condition

While the term “human condition” is often used casually, it actually refers to something profoundly confronting: the fact that, despite our capacity for extraordinary cooperativeness and selflessness, humans often behave in a deeply divisive, selfish, and destructive way. The enduring question has always been: why?

The French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal spelt out the true horror of our species’ contradictory nature when he wrote,

‘What a chimaera then is man! What a novelty, what a monster, what a chaos, what a contradiction, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, imbecile worm of the earth, repository of truth, a sewer of uncertainty and error, the glory and the scum of the universe!’

— Blaise Pascal, Pensées (1670)

As introduced in a previous article about Jeremy Griffith, the Australian biologist began his career in conservation, conducting the most extensive search ever undertaken for the Tasmanian Tiger, before founding a successful natural-furniture business. But his life’s deeper mission was to explain the biological reason behind humanity’s contradictory nature — the “glory and scum of the universe”, as Pascal so vividly put it.

Jeremy Griffith’s Explanation as Presented by the World Transformation Movement

Jeremy Griffith’s breakthrough insight ultimately reveals that humans are not inherently flawed or ‘evil’, as has long been assumed, but rather a deeply psychologically upset species. This upset state is the tragic outcome of a profound internal conflict that emerged when our species became fully conscious.

As our distant ancestors developed consciousness, they gained the capacity to question and understand the world around them. This new intellectual capability, based on the nerve-based learning system, inevitably clashed with our species’ pre-existing instinctive orientations, which had been shaped by the gene-based natural selection process to behave cooperatively and lovingly. Our instincts had no capacity to comprehend the deviations caused by the newly emerged conscious mind, and effectively condemned them, generating immense guilt and insecurity.

Unable to reconcile this conflict, humans became psychologically defensive — and this defence manifested in retaliatory, angry, egocentric and alienated behaviour. This is the origin of the human condition.

The Adam Stork Analogy in the World Transformation Movement’s Explanation

What made this affliction even more acute was the extraordinarily nurturing nature of our species’ instinctive heritage. Far from being brutish or aggressive, our ancestors were cooperative and selfless — similar to what we see in the bonobos, our closest living relatives. This meant that when we began behaving divisively, the contrast with our original nature was so extreme that our sense of guilt and inner torment intensified, further compounding our upset.

To help explain this, Griffith introduces the parable of Adam Stork: a migrating stork who, upon becoming conscious, starts to question the flight path he’s instinctively programmed to follow. His decision to try to chart his own course leads to conflict — not because he’s bad, but because he’s in a position his instincts can’t yet understand. This beautifully illustrates the unjustly condemned but ultimately heroic journey of the human mind.

This is what Griffith refers to as the ‘instinct vs intellect’ biological explanation — a fully accountable, compassionate understanding that dignifies rather than condemns the human journey.

A Turning Point According to the World Transformation Movement

With this explanation in hand, we can at last recognise that our negative behaviours were never the result of an innately flawed or savage nature. They were the outcome of a misunderstood — but heroic and meaningful — psychological battle to find knowledge, understanding, and ultimately, self-worth.

Griffith explains that once we understand this dynamic, the conflict can begin to subside. As he writes in his definitive book FREEDOM:

“[this insight] enables us to see that our divisive human nature was not an unchangeable or immutable state...but the result of the human condition, our inability to understand ourselves, and, as such, it can dissipate now that we have found that understanding”.

— Jeremy Griffith, FREEDOM: The End of the Human Condition, par 293

This is the key understanding that makes possible the transformation of our own personal lives — and the transformation of the world. As explained on the ‘Fix The World’ posters of the World Transformation Movement:

With the real problem of the human condition finally solved, we can now ACTUALLY fix the world!

Expert Interest in the World Transformation Movement’s Work

The WTM highlights various endorsements from academics and thinkers who have responded positively to Griffith’s explanation. These include:

• Professor Harry Prosen, former President of the Canadian Psychiatric Association: “The holy grail of insight we have sought for the psychological rehabilitation of the human race.”
• Professor David Chivers, Cambridge University primatologist: “The necessary breakthrough in the critical issue of human origins and behaviour.”
• Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, world-renowned psychologist: “This might bring about a paradigm shift in the self-image of humanity.”

These perspectives reflect the kind of interest the World Transformation Movement points to in explaining the significance of Griffith’s work.

Read more commendations and reviews for the World Transformation Movement.

The Key Works Presented by the WTM

The World Transformation Movement makes available a vast collection of resources that explain and support Jeremy Griffith’s psychosis-addressing explanation of the human condition.

At the core is Griffith’s definitive book, FREEDOM: The End of the Human Condition, which provides the full biological account of how our species became psychologically upset — and how this can now be resolved.

To help newcomers, the WTM also presents a one-hour introductory video, THE Interview, featuring Griffith in conversation with British actor and broadcaster Craig Conway. It condenses the key concepts in an accessible and powerful format and is the best starting point for understanding the explanation.

Other key resources include:

• Freedom Essays, which explore the explanation through the key topics addressed in Jeremy Griffith's work;
• The global network of WTM Centres, where people from all backgrounds and cultures share and apply this understanding;
• Additional publications, interviews, and audio materials — all designed to support the transformation of individuals and society through understanding.

FAQs

• What is the World Transformation Movement? The World Transformation Movement (WTM) is a global not-for-profit organisation promoting Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith’s biological explanation of the human condition.
• What does the World Transformation Movement teach? The WTM shares Griffith’s instinct-vs-intellect explanation of the human condition, which aims to clarify why humans behave in both cooperative and destructive ways.
• Who founded the World Transformation Movement? The organisation was founded in 1983 by Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith.
• Where can I learn more about the World Transformation Movement? The WTM’s books, essays, videos and global WTM Centre information are available at humancondition.com.

Conclusion: The Profound Importance of the World Transformation Movement’s Work

What Jeremy Griffith and the World Transformation Movement has made available is not just a new way of thinking — it is the long-sought, denial-free, reconciling truth about ourselves. With this understanding, we no longer have to live defensively or in denial of our behaviour. It becomes possible to let go of the guilt, shame, and confusion, and begin living from our species' original, unconditionally selfless and cooperative nature.

This is the real rehabilitation of the human race — not through ideology or discipline, but through understanding.

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🔗 If you are interested in learning more about the World Transformation Movement, you may find the following links helpful:

• Hear from WTM Centre founders sharing their experience on Substack
• An overview article about the World Transformation Movement on Medium
• A helpful introductory video about the WTM, from 2009 by patron Tim Macartney-Snape and Jeremy Griffith
• A clarifying post about the World Transformation Movement on Reddit from a WTM supporter
• And of course, the definitive hub of information about the World Transformation Movement found on the WTM website