• The Multimind Idea of Consciousness

    Contrary to belief, we don't possess one unified mind with a single coherent purpose. We have many minds, "multiminds"—all with different perspectives and agendas.

  • Why Everything We Do Matters

    In his book Fluke, political scientist Brian Klaas explores the phenomenon of random chance and the outsize impact it has on shaping the future.

  • "He Who Tastes Knows"

    Idries Shah wrote more than 30 books of stories and essays on Sufi thought aimed at developing our latent capacities.

  • Why We Are Vulnerable to Persuasion

    Masters of influence know how to manipulate the cues that trigger our decision-making reflexes which evolved to help us survive as a species.

Understanding how the human mind evolved, the world it created, and what we might become.

The Human Journey was co-founded by psychologist and brain scientist Dr. Robert Ornstein as the culmination of more than fifty years of work exploring the evolution, limitations and developmental possibilities of the human mind.

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Travel the Journey:

Journey of the Human Mind

We face a world that is far different from our ancestor’s world. But we have the potential to understand and solve the problems of today, many of which are man-made, if we first understand who we are, and how the past has made us.

Our Prehistoric Ancestors

Understanding our evolutionary roots—what we share with animals and primates, and how we differ—is key to realizing our unique potential.


The Evolution of Language

The evolution of language has shaped our minds and culture—unlocking new ways to connect, create, and face challenges.


Ideas that Shaped Our Modern World

Driven to solve and seek, our evolution has unfolded through innovation and the pursuit of transcendence.

An illustration of a young woman holding and looking at her smart phone.

Education and the Information Age

Mitigating the pitfalls of digital technology and providing a quality education that promotes lifelong learning are two critical keys for our future.

Our Mind in the Modern World

Technology has outpaced evolution. To thrive, we must consciously evolve by understanding the full capacities of our minds.

Latest Blog Posts:

Two children in costume playing with one another on a tricycle and roller skates.

In our screen and achievement-obsessed culture, the play instincts of children are being smothered, inhibiting their natural creativity and curiosity. Loosening the reins on childhood can help fix that.

A photo showing a scientist doing a bird flu examination on chickens.

As concern rises about the H5N1 or “bird flu” virus, will the lessons learned about the COVID-19 pandemic be squandered—especially in the current political environment of the United States?

A painting of colourful concentric circles.

The way in which different cultures describe and classify colors reveals differences in how they perceive the world. It also might help us navigate the increasingly polarized nature of our conversations, globally, into the future.

An illustration of a young woman holding and looking at her smart phone.

Our culture is becoming inured to the negatives of too much screen time. However, as John Zada writes, one heinous impact of smart phone use—the potential manipulation of our beliefs—remains both sorely underappreciated and poorly understood.

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©2026, Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge. All Rights Reserved by ISHK

©2026, Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge. All Rights Reserved by ISHK