This Human Condition Wiki is an open collaboration. We are striving to articulate a view of the human condition that is informed by academic knowledge, yet also honors the subjective and spiritual aspect of human experience. Many other sites touch on the Human Condition, but we are unique in our goal of developing a consensus limited by certain premises. Our starting point is Puzzling Evidence from Evolutionary Psychology and other psychology areas (social, positive, personality and cognitive), as well as neuroscience, anthropology, Economics and artificial intelligence. Important results are little known, or have been been badly misunderstood because the interpretations that have been offered clash with our intuitive introspective understandings and our cultural theories about what we are and how we should be.
Our primary goal here is reinterpretation. This is not a scientific theory, but rather an attempt to weave together a framework of meaning encompassing many theories. Our ultimate goal is a compelling Human Story, but what we have now is a body of Analysis that refers to scientific results and other interpretive efforts, especially books. You will see that our synthesis demands nuanced straddles between traditionally irreconcilable philosophical positions such as Determinism vs. Free Will and Nature Versus Nurture, and also between traditionally hostile disciplines such as Evolutionary Psychology and Sociology.
Some of the “why” answers that we uncover touch on spiritual issues such as morality, our place in the universe and the meaning of life. We see truth in many traditional teachings about human nature, but we are also exploring how our beliefs need need to change as a response to modern culture, worldview and economics.
We believe that our intuitive and cultural understandings of the human condition are greatly distorted in various ways and for various reasons. It is humbling to appreciate this, but we strongly believe that a humble human condition need not be meaningless or futile. Developing this realistic self-understanding is worthwhile. As individuals, we can act more effectively, with less frustration and disappointment. Together, we can intelligently strive for social progress.