Influence: Why We are Vulnerable to Persuasion

“The advantage of such shortcut responding lies in its efficiency and economy; by reacting automatically to a normally informative trigger feature, an individual preserves crucial time, energy, and mental capacity. The disadvantage of such responding lies in its vulnerability to silly and costly mistakes.” – Robert Cialdini, in Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion David Sobel, MD, MPH, … Continue reading Influence: Why We are Vulnerable to Persuasion

Watch & Listen

Choose a topic area to explore or browse the featured stories below. Biological Evolution Language Tools & Technology Evolution of Ideas Sustainability Economy Health & Education Intercultural Understanding Discovering Our Distant Ancestors Watch: Spencer Wells takes us, as he says, on a journey that began “a long time ago [when] your family were on the brink of … Continue reading Watch & Listen

Natural Capitalism

Featured Book Natural Capitalism Creating the Next Industrial Revolution Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins & L. Hunter Lovins10th Anniversary Paperback Edition 2010 The word “capitalist” commonly refers to an individual who puts up money for projects and is focused on profits. In some circles, the word is a pejorative, with allusions to crooked financiers and others … Continue reading Natural Capitalism

Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning

Featured Book Beyond the Hole in the Wall Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning Sugata MitraKindle edition 2012 As every parent knows, children seem to have little difficulty in figuring out various digital devices, and we all know that they are natural born learners. Sugata Mitra’s now famous experiments have shone light on the immense capacities that … Continue reading Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning

About Us

About Us “This is a civilization that is going down, not because it hasn’t got the knowledge that would save it, but because nobody will use the knowledge.” —Idries Shah The Human Journey website is a project of The Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK). For 50 years, under the direction of the late Robert … Continue reading About Us

Transcendence: Activating Our Brains’ Latent Capacities

Saint Augustine, Phillippe de Champaigne “The Greatest surprise of human evolution may be that the highest form of selfishness is selflessness.”  – Robert Ornstein, God 4.0  Robert Ornstein, PhD; David Sobel, MD, MPH; and Sally MallamContributing Writers The content of this section, unless indicated, represents Robert Ornstein’s award-winning Psychology of Evolution Trilogy and Multimind. It is reproduced here by … Continue reading Transcendence: Activating Our Brains’ Latent Capacities

Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution

RECOMMENDED

by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins & L. Hunter Lovins Most businesses still operate according to a world view that hasn't changed since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Then, natural resources were abundant and labor was the limiting factor of production. But now, there's a surplus of people, while natural capital natural resources and the ecological systems that provide vital life-support services is scarce and relatively expensive. In this groundbreaking blueprint for a new economy, three leading business visionaries explain how the world is on the verge of a new industrial revolution. Natural Capitalism describes a future in which business and environmental interests increasingly overlap, and in which companies can improve their bottom lines, help solve environmental problems and feel better about what they do all at the same time. Citing hundreds of compelling stories from a wide array of sectors, the book shows how to realize benefits both for today's shareholders and for future generations and how, by firing the unproductive tons, gallons, and kilowatt-hours, it's possible to keep the people who will foster the innovation that drives future improvement.

Connecting with the Gods

The relationship between people and their god(s) was of primary importance all over the world. As populations grew, settlements became cities. Order was achieved through religious hierarchy—priests and leaders ensured that they had access to “secrets” using religion to stay powerful. “As the problems and challenges facing humankind have changed, so have their religious and … Continue reading Connecting with the Gods

China

Chinese Axial Age philosophers expressed a new ethic in response to social and cultural upheaval. Instead of simply serving our own interests or the interests of friends, family, clan and nation, we should accept responsibility for our own life, actions and thoughts. They taught that we are capable of a higher morality, the achievement of … Continue reading China