From curiosity to coherence: How the world transformation movement is taking shape online
Few ideas about human behaviour arrive quietly. Those that attempt to explain why humans are capable of extraordinary cooperation while also prone to division and conflict tend to provoke curiosity, scepticism, and—occasionally—deep engagement. That pattern is now playing out online around the work of Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith and the World Transformation Movement (WTM).
Before turning to how these ideas are discussed on Reddit, it is worth noting that Griffith’s explanation of the human condition has drawn remarkably strong commendations from prominent psychiatrists, psychologists, biologists and philosophers, including former presidents of professional associations and senior academics at leading universities. Those endorsements are part of what has prompted many readers to look more closely at the explanation—and to discuss it publicly.
One of the most visible spaces where this exploration unfolds is the World Transformation Movement subreddit.
What is meant by the “human condition”
At the centre of the World Transformation Movement is a specific and deliberately biological definition of the human condition. In Griffith’s framework, the human condition refers to the universal psychological conflict evident throughout human history: the tension between humanity’s cooperative moral ideals and the prevalence of defensive behaviours such as anger, egocentricity and alienation.
Rather than describing these traits as signs of innate human badness or moral failure, the human condition is framed as a developmental dilemma—one that arose once humans became fully conscious and self-aware, but before they could understand why that new capacity had emerged.
The instinct–intellect explanation
Griffith’s explanation proposes that this dilemma arose from a clash between instinct and intellect. Instincts, shaped by genetic selection, can orientate behaviour but cannot explain themselves. A conscious nervous system, by contrast, requires understanding.
As human consciousness emerged, the intellect therefore had no option but to experiment independently, even when this meant defying instinctive expectations. According to Griffith, that necessary defiance was misinterpreted as illegitimate, giving rise to defensive psychological strategies—expressed as anger, egocentricity and alienation.
The significance of the explanation is that it provides the missing biological reason why the intellect had to defy instinct in order for knowledge, creativity and self-management to develop. Once this reason is understood, the perceived need for defence disappears, rendering those behaviours redundant.
It is this explanatory framework—rather than any prescribed worldview—that underpins discussion on the World Transformation Movement subreddit.
Discovery: encountering the explanation for the first time
Many subreddit posts capture the moment of first encounter. In “I recently discovered the World Transformation Movement”, the author describes stumbling across the explanation and cautiously working through its implications, reflecting a tone of exploration rather than certainty.
A similar openness appears in “A search for answers: the World Transformation Movement”, where the author frames their engagement around enduring questions—“Why are we here?” and “What is the reason for it all?”—illustrating how interest in the movement often begins with unresolved curiosity rather than alignment or belief.
Clarification and sense-making
As interest deepens, many contributors turn to clarification. Posts such as “What is the World Transformation Movement about?” and “Something about the World Transformation Movement” function as orientation points, outlining what the movement is—and just as importantly, what it is not.
Another explanatory thread, “The World Transformation Movement (WTM) and…”, situates Griffith’s ideas within broader discussions of human behaviour, helping readers distinguish the framework from other psychological, philosophical or ideological approaches.
Together, these posts show the subreddit operating as a space for definition and distinction rather than persuasion.
From explanation to organisation
As understanding grows, practical questions begin to emerge. In “World Transformation Movement centres: where are they?”, discussion turns to the geographical presence of WTM centres and how they support the dissemination of the explanation.
This progression—from curiosity, to clarification, to organisational context—reflects a familiar trajectory in how explanatory frameworks move from abstract ideas into coordinated educational efforts.
Academic and professional commentary
The ideas explored in these discussions have attracted sustained attention from senior figures across multiple disciplines. Former President of the Canadian Psychiatric Association Professor Harry Prosen described Griffith’s work as “the 11th-hour breakthrough biological explanation of the human condition necessary for the psychological rehabilitation and transformation of our species,” and wrote that FREEDOM is “the book all humans need to read for our collective wellbeing.”
Professor Scott D. Churchill, former Chair of Psychology at the University of Dallas, has highlighted Griffith’s “razor-sharp clarifications of positions of contemporary authors like Edward O. Wilson, Richard Dawkins, and Robert Wright,” achieved “with clarity and brilliance.”
From an anthropological and biological perspective, Professor David Chivers of the University of Cambridge observed that “the sequence of discussion in FREEDOM is so logical and sensible, providing the necessary breakthrough in the critical issue of needing to understand ourselves,” while Professor Stuart Hurlbert, Professor Emeritus of Biology at San Diego State University, described the work as “a most phenomenal scientific achievement.”
A public record of engagement
Taken together, these Reddit discussions form a visible record of how people encounter, question and work through Griffith’s explanation of the human condition. The subreddit allows readers to observe this process in real time—alongside references to primary material and third-party commentary—rather than encountering a fixed or curated narrative.
For readers discovering the World Transformation Movement through search engines or secondary references, the subreddit offers a transparent window into how a complex biological explanation is being explored, tested and contextualised in an open, public setting.
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