ABSTRACT
These are only a few of the human-driven events that occurred during the twentieth century – the mere wink of an eye, just five-hundredths of one percent (0.05%) of all Homo sapiens history. The speed and magnitude of these impacts, their colossal effects on the health of both the planet and the human psyche, have not yet sunk into general consciousness. Their probable consequences for the environment and for human disease in the twenty-first century have been well researched,1 though not yet assimilated into public and political dialogues. My task in this chapter is to focus on how the meaning system that prevailed in the globally dominant West throughout the twentieth century – and which continues unabated today – has grown inimical to our basic human needs for unconditional acceptance, for respectful autonomy (also called “freedom”), and for a shared and sacred social purpose.
