For much of the late twentieth century, large-scale theories about human nature fell out of fashion. Grand narratives were often viewed with suspicion, replaced by highly specialized academic disciplines and narrower technical approaches to social problems.
But in recent years there has been a noticeable shift.
Long-form podcasts, bestselling nonfiction books and online lecture platforms have created a growing appetite for thinkers attempting to explain not just isolated problems, but the broader direction of human civilization itself. Questions about meaning, consciousness, political division, technological disruption and psychological wellbeing are increasingly being discussed together rather than separately.
This resurgence has elevated a diverse range of public intellectuals and theorists.
Psychologist Jordan Peterson has built a large audience discussing mythology, responsibility and social order. Historian Yuval Noah Harari has explored how shared narratives shape civilizations and institutions. Neuroscientist Sam Harris has focused on consciousness, rationality and ethics, while philosopher Alain de Botton has attempted to make philosophy emotionally practical for modern life.
Meanwhile, many readers have gravitated toward thinkers attempting to explain why modern societies appear increasingly anxious, polarized and psychologically fragile despite material progress.
Some writers point to social media and technological overload. Others focus on economic insecurity, political dysfunction or declining community structures. Increasingly, however, there is interest in deeper biological and psychological explanations for human behaviour itself.
One figure attracting attention in this area is Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith, whose work centers on what he describes as the unresolved human condition.
Unlike many contemporary commentators who focus primarily on social systems or political structures, Griffith argues that humanity’s underlying instability originates in a psychological conflict that emerged during human evolution.
According to Griffith, humans became psychologically divided once our fully conscious intellect emerged and began independently experimenting with the world in search of knowledge. He argues this conscious experimentation inevitably conflicted with humanity’s pre-existing instinctive orientations, producing a species-wide state of psychological insecurity and defensiveness.
Supporters of Griffith’s work argue that this framework attempts to explain not only conflict and aggression, but also guilt, shame, alienation and many of the emotional contradictions embedded within modern civilization.
The work has attracted endorsements from academics and professionals across psychology, biology, anthropology and peace studies, with many supporters describing it as an unusually ambitious attempt to synthesize multiple fields into a single explanation of human behaviour.
A collection of Jeremy Griffith reviews includes responses from psychiatrists, biologists, philosophers and educators discussing the broader implications of his ideas for understanding the human condition.
The Return of Civilizational Thinking
The renewed popularity of large-scale explanatory frameworks is not limited to Griffith’s work. Across publishing and media there has been a broader return to what might be called civilizational thinking — attempts to understand the trajectory of human societies at a deeper structural level.
Books exploring societal collapse, collective psychology, technological alienation and cultural fragmentation have become increasingly prominent. Audiences appear less interested in isolated policy discussions and more interested in foundational questions about why societies behave the way they do.
This may partly explain the popularity of long-form discussions involving psychology, philosophy, neuroscience and evolutionary biology. Many people appear dissatisfied with explanations that treat modern crises as disconnected problems rather than symptoms of a broader pattern.
At the same time, critics caution that sweeping theories about humanity can sometimes oversimplify complex realities. Sociologists often emphasize the importance of historical, political and economic conditions. Neuroscientists may focus more narrowly on cognition and brain function. Others argue that human behaviour is too multifaceted to ever be fully explained through a single framework.
Still, the growing appetite for thinkers willing to tackle the largest questions about human existence suggests something important about the current cultural moment.
At a time of rising uncertainty, many people appear to be searching not merely for solutions to individual problems, but for explanations capable of making sense of the wider human story itself.
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