# Humanise: How knowing ourselves could change the world

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/books/humanise-how-knowing-ourselves-could-change-the-world/
- Published: 2024-09-13T12:28:18+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Do you think you understand people? Think again.**
Most of us have a completely
inaccurate picture of how we, and other human beings, think and behave. This leads
us to set unrealistic expectations for ourselves, build societies that don’t make
us happy and struggle to solve the problems facing our species.

This book will unveil the astonishing truth of what human beings are really like
as creatures, using the latest evidence from psychology and real-world examples.
For example, although our brains are powerful, they still need to simplify the world
in ways that can lead to biases and blind spots in our thinking. We are also so 
influenced by other people that it might be more accurate to see ourselves as nodes
in a network rather than as individuals. The book will present a model of 5 key 
characteristics to help us understand human thinking and behaviour.

It will then explore how we can use this knowledge to more effectively address some
of the challenges we face as a species, including the need to reduce prejudice and
violence, tackle the obesity crisis, avoid inaccurate beliefs and stop climate change.
It will ask why we struggle to achieve these things, and consider how we can set
more realistic views and expectations for ourselves, given the creatures we are.
It will argue that it is meaningless to call human beings good, bad, imperfect, 
or anything else – we are simply the creatures we are, and we have to make the best
of this. It will then show how we can harness our traits of human thinking and behaviour
to approach these challenges in more effective ways.

The book will also consider how we can use this knowledge about ourselves to build
a better future, both for human beings and the natural world we are part of. It 
will reflect on what it means for human beings to flourish, given the creatures 
we really are. It will ask why we’re struggling to flourish within the modern world
we have created, and show how many of the institutions and ideas around us (from
our conception of freedom to the continual pursuit of economic growth) have been
built either on a faulty, out-of-date idea of what human beings are like, or to 
serve goals other than human flourishing. As a result, we are living in a world 
that is actually hostile to the creatures we are.

Finally, the book will explore what a society might look like that both prioritised
human flourishing and took into account the creatures we really are. It will argue
that human beings 1 need structures around us in our lives to support us in being
the creatures we want (and need) to be in order to build the peaceful, sustainable
lives we want – for example, protecting rather than exploiting our vulnerabilities
to tribalism. With wide-ranging ideas such as banning advertising, giving everyone
access to basic resources, and helping people develop their ‘superpower’ of cooperation,
it will paint a radical picture of how we can build this nurturing environment for
humanity and seek a better world.

Overall, ‘Humanise’ will force us to challenge and rethink some of our most cherished
ideas about ourselves, and the ideas, institutions and societies that surround us.
It will show how we can carve out better lives and a better society if we are prepared
to understand and accept the creatures we really are.

[⌊Humanise front cover, and call to action - "the book for a better future - pre-
order it now"⌉⌊Humanise front cover, and call to action - "the book for a better
future - pre-order it now"⌉[

Author Richard Docwra (Director at [ChangeStar](https://changestar.co.uk/)) says:

“Humanise has great relevance to anyone working to seek social change in any capacity,
as it shows how we can’t tackle our key human challenges effectively without first
understanding the creatures we really are, and also sets out the radical changes
that are needed to our ideas, institutions and politics if we are to adequately 
address some of our challenges and build a society where human beings can truly 
flourish within the one planet we have.”