With all my talk on evil in the past few months, especially about evil as a mystery, I might have given the impression of being a believer in the “total corruption” of human nature. This is not the case. When I speak about evil — much as Matthew Fox does — I simply acknowledge that the struggle against systemic forces such as racism, sexism, and colonialism is at times enormously hard.
Spiritual fighters should not be surprised — as we too often are—that social advancements are eroded or destroyed. Evil does come back, and this should not deter us a bit from our opposition to it.
I acknowledge, however, that “evil” is a very strong word carrying connotations that might be confusing. What I mean by “evil” is “violence carried to the extreme.” We might not be able to see in our lives the disappearance of evil/violence, but does that mean that human nature is evil/violent in its essence?
Piero Giorgi, research affiliate at the National Centre for Peace & Conflicts Studies, believes it is not. He is convinced that the species Homo sapiens has not always been violent and, therefore, can return to being nonviolent. His belief is grounded in decades of scientific research in biology and neurobiology, as well as in the history of humanity before the invention of writing, so his research is especially interesting for those who are interested in a spirituality anchored in reality and facts.
Giorgi defines violence as a complex social behavior designed to oppress, injure, or kill large numbers of members of its own species. Human beings, therefore, are the only species on earth practicing violence. However, there is no evidence of violence between people in the rock art painted or carved by Homo sapiens between about 50,000 years ago and 6,000 years ago. There are no scientific reasons to believe that violence is inscribed in the human genes, except for a vague predisposition to both nonviolence and violence. There is instead an historical explanation for the process leading from the domestication of animals and crops in the Neolithic Age to social stratification and finally to violence, starting with class oppression, in the Bronze Age, around 6,000 years ago.
It is likely, Giorgi concludes, that Homo sapiens lived without violence from its inception as a species, around 300,000 years ago, to about 6,000 years ago. The invention of violence can be called the great tragedy of humanity, but it is entirely an historical event whose consequences are surely very heavy, but they need not be considered fixed and immutable.
Just as Matthew Fox has asked insistently that the scientific approach be applied to disputed issues in religious circles — such as homosexuality, in which case the issue simply dissolves — so we should be able to listen to Piero Giorgi when we debate the age-old question of the nature of human beings and violence.
Piero P. Giorgi, Good News for a Nonviolent Future: A New Scientific Approach, p. 5.
See Matthew Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
Also Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
And Fox, Trump and the MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
And Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation
Banner image: “Forced displacement of Gaza strip residents during the Gaza-Israel War” 2023-2025. Photography by Jaber Jehad Badwan. Wikimedia Commons
Queries for Contemplation
Are you open to consider scientific evidence and research when it comes to your ideas about humanity? Do you feel any connection with our Paleolithic ancestors?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation
Authors Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox encourage us to use our talents in service of compassion and justice and to move beyond our broken systems–economic, political, educational, and religious–discovering a spirituality that not only helps us to get along, but also encourages us to reevaluate our traditions, transforming them and in the process building a more sacred and just world. Incorporating the words of young activist leaders culled from interviews and surveys, the book provides a framework that is deliberately interfaith and speaks to our profound yearning for a life with spiritual purpose and for a better world.
“Occupy Spirituality is a powerful, inspiring, and vital call to embodied awareness and enlightened actions.”
~~ Julia Butterfly Hill, environmental activist and author of The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods
5 thoughts on “The Great Tragedy of Humanity”
Responses –
Question 1: Yes.
Question 2: No.
Even if it could be proven that Homo sapiens has always been violent, wouldn’t the very notions of self-respect and self-improvement dictate a self-discipline to eradicate violence? In a universe where everything is interconnected, any form of violence has an inherent boomerang effect: mountaintop removal, fracking, clear-cutting and slaughterhouses are not only forms of violence against the Earth and other species but, ultimately, against the self-proclaimed superior species. Hubris is a form of violence against oneself. May William forgive this paraphrase : “This above all: to thine own self be non-violent, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be violent to anyone or anything else.” Or, as sung in a previous DM: “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
Well said, Daniel! And also, thank-you, Gianluigi, for such a thought provoking topic. I was totally unaware of the research.
Yes! I have also been studying the findings of several prominent psychics/channelers that report past (and present galactic) civilizations, such as Atlantis and Lemurian, that were more advanced and peaceful. One well known and genuine scientist and psychic spiritual teacher offers a very interesting course on our Galactic History, among other spiritual courses, on her website, prismatichuman.com Her name is Elizabeth Wysen, very personable, and lives in Ecuador with her family.
There is a lot about our multidimensional/multiverse Cosmos and Angelic spiritual realms that we are discovering/realizing about our human evolution and Eternal Souls.
I think that we cannot know what our remote ancestors did and felt, but simple observation and knowledge of history tells me that we are certainly capable of great violence as we are also capable of great love. I don’t believe in the literal reading of the bible, but the story of Adam and Eve comes from an attempt to portray and understand human nature. Other creation stories, at least some of them, include violence. My friend insists that people are basically good, and my answer is that people are basically weak. This weakness manifests as the herd mentality and acceptance of great evil, as is clear from the passage of the immoral bill by the senate in the U.S. and the upcoming passage by the House. Violence comes from complete disrespect for basic human needs, and is a choice. Sadly, it is one that the majority of people either practice or condone.