This document discusses innate human capacities and needs, and the consequences when those needs are not met. It argues that humans have innate abilities like memory, rapport, imagination, emotions, rational thinking, metaphorical thinking, and dreaming. Additionally, humans have innate psycho-social needs like autonomy, privacy, meaning and purpose, and security. When these capacities and needs are not fulfilled, it can lead to issues like mental health problems, addiction, crime, and radicalization on an individual level and epidemics of these issues, excessive consumerism, global competition and conflict, and an oppressive globalized system on a societal and global level. The document suggests imagining initiatives to improve things by meeting emotional needs and having a political system that

2. THE TAIL IS WAGGING THE DOG

4. THE EMOTIONS
NOT ALWAYS
TARGETED WELL…
UK: “PROJECT
FEAR” BELIEVED IT
WORKED IN THE
2014 SCOTTISH
REF…
DIDN’T WORK IN
BREXIT

5. FROM HOMER TO LISA SIMPSON: REACTION TO INTENTION

6. Human Givens
Institute
www.hgi.org.uk

7. HUMAN: THE RADICAL ANIMAL
INNATE HUMAN RESOURCES FOR FLOURISHING
Memory: The ability to develop complex long-term memory, which enables people to add to their innate
(instinctive) knowledge and learn;
Rapport: The ability to build rapport, empathise and connect with other others;
Imagination: Which enables people to focus attention away from the emotions and problem solve more
creatively and objectively (a 'reality simulator');
Instincts and emotions: A set of basic responses and 'propulsion' for behaviours;
A rational mind: A conscious, rational mind that can check out emotions, question, analyse and plan;
A metaphorical mind: The ability to 'know', to understand the world unconsciously through metaphorical
pattern matching ('this thing is like that thing');
An observing self: That part of us which can step back, be more objective and recognise itself as a unique
centre of awareness apart from intellect, emotion and conditioning;[24][25]
A dreaming brain: According to the expectation fulfilment theory of dreaming, this preserves the integrity of
our genetic inheritance every night by metaphorically defusing emotionally arousing expectations not acted
out during the previous day.

8. INNATE HUMAN PSYCHO-SOCIAL NEEDS FOR FLOURISHING

9. THE CONSEQUENCES FOR INDIVIDUALS
1. Loss of mental health
2. We become unhealthy and move into dependency on others
3. We are more easily manipulated, enslaved
4. Our potential as individuals and society is wasted
CONSEQUENCES FOR SOCIETY
1. Epidemics of depression and addiction
2. Excessive consumerism – easy ways to get needs met, hard to resist when stressed
3. Crime – too many people in prison due to mental health problems
4. Radicalisation – young people joining ISIS increasingly understood as a response to lack of meaning
and purpose in their lives
CONSEQUENCES FOR OUR WORLD
1. We see the world as threatening: cannot manage difference and conflict becomes violent
2. Excessive global competition
3. We find it hard to cooperate to save our planet
4. Globalisation becomes oppressive and disconnected

10. WHAT ARE THE POSSIBILITIES WE CAN SEE, ONCE WE BEGIN
TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR EMOTIONAL CAPACITIES AND NEEDS?
TAKE ONE OR MORE EMOTIONAL NEED AND IMAGINE SOMETHING WE COULD INITIATE TO IMPROVE THINGS
FOR THE INDIVIDUAL, OUR SOCIETY OR OUR GLOBE

11. world
LOCOi
we
world
Possibility:
We live in a society of
potentially TOTAL surveillance.
Some argue that we should own
and control that data.
But how do we construct
a system that answers all
these three emotional
needs? How might our
responsibility match
these structures?
Eg Digital Magna Carta

12. WHAT KIND OF
POLITICS AND
POLICY WOULD
SERVE A SOCIETY
FOR PEOPLE WITH
COMPLEX
CAPACITIES AND
NEEDS?
YOUR TURN: IN GROUPS OF 4

13. AUTONOMY
Less trickle-down, command and
control. More grassroots,
community based autonomy:
localism, muncipalism, networks
PRIVACY
A politics of time
offering more time
for reflection
MEANING AND PURPOSE
More developed sense of citizenship
SECURITY
Community
resilience with local
food and energy
policy
Flatter, more reflective parties

14. Theory of political dysfunction:
the 2%, homo economicus, top down structure, hard powered
globe looking back at the past

15. Theory of political change:
the 98%, the radical animal, more autonomous networked
structures, smart-powered globe: looking into the future

16. www.thealternative.org.uk
info@thealternative.org.uk
Twitter @AlterUK21
Facebook: The Alternative UK
Co-initiators: Indra Adnan & Pat Kane