The Making and Breaking of Minds: How social interactions shape the human mind

Isabella Sarto-Jackson, Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Austria

The human brain has a truly remarkable capacity. It reorganizes itself, flexibly adjusting to fluctuating environmental conditions – a process called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity provides the basis for wide-ranging learning and memory processes that are particularly profuse during childhood and adolescence. At the same time, the exceptional malleability of the developing brain leaves it highly vulnerable to negative impact from the surroundings. Abusive or neglecting social environments, as well as socioeconomic deprivation and poverty, cause toxic stress and complex traumas that can severely compromise cognitive development, emotional processing, self-perception, and executive brain functions. The neurophysiological changes entailed impair emotional regulation, lead to heightened anxiety, and afflict attachment and the formation of social bonds. Neuroplastic changes following severely adverse experiences are not something that a person grows out of and gets over. These experiences alter the neurobiological and biochemical makeup and cause people to live in an emotionally relabeled world in which the evaluation of any social cue, their behavior, cognition, and state of mind are biased towards the negative. Even more worrying, detrimental neurophysiological consequences are not limited to the traumatized individual but are often transmitted to subsequent generations through a process of social niche construction, thereby creating a vicious cycle. Thus, the making and breaking forces of the brain are epitomized by parents, alloparents, peers, and our socioeconomic niche. This book expounds on the formative role that the social environment plays in healthy brain development, especially during infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Based on scientific findings, the book advocates for bold measures and responsible stewardship to combat child abuse, maltreatment, and child poverty. By bringing together insights from neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and social education work, it lays out a fact-based, transdisciplinary endeavor that aims at rising to the societal challenge of providing a rewarding perspective to youth at risk. It will be a valuable resource for academics from social education, pedagogy, cognitive science, neuroscience, as well as professionals in the fields of social work, pedagogy, education, child welfare.

Jesus and his Two Fathers: The Person and the Legacy

Uri Wernik

Who was Jesus in real life? What inspired his ideas? What did he aim to achieve? What drew his disciples to him? How was he influenced by them? Unlike the many “quests for the historical Jesus”, as a psychologist, Wernik answers these questions from the perspectives of psychology and the social sciences. This book’s central axis is the theme of the father. It looks at the family constellation into which Jesus was born, where he was raised by a stepfather. It also investigates the relationship he develops with God, his father in heaven; and examines how he became a father figure to his disciples and followers. It is hoped that readers will also think about their own father when reading, the one usually called “dad”. Jesus and His Two Fathers sees Jesus’ love of peace and appeasement doctrine, as well as his difficulty with anger control, in the context of his upbringing and family constellation. Wernik offers a solution to the problem of the “missing years” which were unaccounted in the New Testament. He examines the internal conflicts in Jesus’ movement, and the tensions with the religious establishment, which led to his death. Jesus did not see himself as the Messiah, and Wernik shows him in fact as a great reformer of Judaism, who changed the notions of righteousness, the relation of the believers to God, and the status of the commandments. This book will be of interest to scholars, teachers and students in the humanities and social sciences, among others in the fields of religion, especially Christianity and Judaism. It is aimed at interested discerning readers of non-fiction in these areas.

Addiction Reimagined: Challenging Views of an Enduring Social Problem

Leonard A. Steverson, Flagler College

“Addiction Reimagined: Challenging Views of an Enduring Social Problem” outlines the current issues in the field of substance use and addiction by thoroughly analyzing its history and other concerns such as diagnosis, treatment, and prevention measures, or the effect of addiction on the family and its connection to the criminal justice system. In this work, Professor Steverson calls for a reimagining of our past and current understandings of addiction and its role as a social, rather than a medical, problem. “Addiction Reimagined” provides a macro-level (i.e. sociological) approach to the examination of the processes and treatment modalities of addiction. This book will be valuable to those who are interested in addiction and the mental health system (people who have addiction problems or policy makers, for instance) as well as to practitioners in the field and people concerned about a failing system, and who would like to make it more functional. It will also be useful to university students undertaking courses such as The Sociology of Addiction or Sociology of Substance Abuse.

The Age of Artificial Intelligence: An Exploration

Edited by Steven S. Gouveia, University of Porto, Portugal

With worldwide spending estimates of over $97 billion by 2023, it is no surprise that Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is one of the hottest topics at present in both the private and public spheres. Comprising of vital contributions from the most influential researchers in the field, including Daniel Dennett, Roman V. Yampolskiy, Frederic Gilbert, Stevan Harnad, David Pearce, Natasha Vita-More, Vernon Vinge and Ben Goertzel, ‘The Age of Artificial Intelligence: An Exploration’ discusses a variety of topics ranging from the various ethical issues associated with A.I. based technologies in terms of morality and law to subjects related to artificial consciousness, artistic creativity and intelligence. The volume is organized as follows: Section I is dedicated to reflections on the Intelligence of A.I., with chapters by Soenke Ziesche and Roman V. Yampolskiy, Stevan Harnad, Daniel Dennett and David Pearce. Next, Section II discusses the relationship between consciousness, simulation and artificial intelligence, with chapters by Gabriel Axel Montes and Ben Goertzel, Cody Turner, Nicole Hall and Steven S. Gouveia. Section III, dedicated to aesthetical creativity and language in artificial intelligence, includes chapters by Caterina Moruzzi, René Mogensen, Mariana Chinellato Ferreira and Kulvinder Panesar. The subsequent Section IV is on the Ethics of the Bionic Brain with the participation of Peter A. DePergola II, Tomislav Miletić and Frederic Gilbert, Aníbal M. Astobiza, Txetxu Ausin, Ricardo M. Ferrer and Stephen Rainey and Natasha Vita-More. Finally, Section V follows on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence with chapters by Federico Pistono and Roman V. Yamploskiy, Hasse Hämäläinen, Vernon Vinge and Eray Özkural. The Age of Artificial Intelligence is imminent, if not here already. We should ensure that we invest in the right people and the right ideas to create the best possible solutions to the problems of the present and prepare for those of the future. This edited volume will be of particular interest to researchers in the field of A.I. as well of those in Cognitive Science (Philosophy of the Mind, Neuroscience, and Linguistics), Aesthetics and Arts, Applied Ethics and Political Philosophy / Law. Students studying the aforementioned topics can also benefit from its contents.

Logic and African Philosophy

Seminal Essays on African Systems of Thought

Edited by Jonathan O. Chimakonam, University of Pretoria, South Africa

“Logic and African Philosophy: Seminal Essays on African Systems of Thought” aims to put African intellectual history in perspective, with focus on the subjects of racism, logic, language, and psychology. The volume seeks to fill in the gaps left by the exclusion of African thinkers that are frequent in the curricula of African schools concerning history, sociology, philosophy, and cultural studies. The book is divided into four parts that are preceded by an introduction to link up the essays and emphasise their sociological implications. Part one is comprised of essays that opened the controversy of whether logic can be found in traditional African cultures as well as other matters like the nature of the mind and behaviour of African peoples. The essays in part two are centred on the following question: are the laws of thought present in African languages and cultures? Part three brings together essays that sparkle the debate on whether there can be such a thing as African logic, which stems from the discussions in part two. Part four is concerned on the theme of system-building in logic; contributions are written by members of the budding African philosophy movement called the “Conversational School of Philosophy” based at the University of Calabar, and the main objective of their papers is to formulate systems of African logic.

Solutions to knife crime: a path through the red sea?

Sue Roberts, University of Portsmouth

This book addresses one of the UK’s most persistent and serious concerns: knife crime. While research diagnosing the cause of rising knife crime abounds, few studies articulate effective solutions to this complex social problem. Drawing on data from cities across the UK, Sue Roberts suggests concrete forms of collaboration that may just spare future generations from the worst of this terrifying scourge. “Solutions to knife crime: a path through the red sea?” will fascinate law-enforcers, policy-makers, criminologists and other specialists both within and outside academia. It will also appeal to anyone who’s been affected, or is simply concerned, by this blight on British society.

Researching the Teaching of Drawing

Edited by Raymond M. Klein, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University

The Drawing Laboratory at NSCAD University was founded with funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2005 as a collaboration between psychological scientists from Dalhousie and drawing instructors at NSAD. The Drawing Lab is thus a unique place where scientists and artists collaborate on interdisciplinary research about the complex intellectual and practical act of drawing from observation. By bringing the scientific method to bear on how drawing processes unfold, those involved seek to improve drawing education while furthering research on the cognitive processes involved in drawing. The chapters in this book describe that research. ‘Perceptual and Cognitive Processes in Drawing from Observation’ will hold much interest for drawing instructors and students, psychologists and neuroscientists with a specialism in art, as well as those with a general interest in art and science. Authors of this volume are Amanda Burk, John Christie, Tim Fedak, Raymond Klein, Geniva Liu, Bryan Maycock, Mathew Reichertz and Jack Wong.

The Philosophical Dimension of Psychology: A Beginner’s Guide

James A. Harold, Pepperdine University, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Both students and professors typically assume that the content of introductory psychology textbooks, which are empirical in nature, are identical to psychology proper. Yet, what is surprising is how many interesting psychological insights can be found in both philosophy and literature that are often not found in psychology texts. Such insights are clearly psychological in nature, yet they do not go back to any empirical investigation. It seems that basic psychology textbooks—typically providing the basis for undergraduate and graduate psychology programs—represent only one important dimension of psychology: empirical psychology. But there is no simple, co-extensive identity between psychology and empirical psychology. ‘The Philosophical Dimension of Psychology: A Beginner’s Guide’ begins with an investigation of what constitutes the subject matter of psychology, which demonstrates the aspects of psychological reality that are ignored, missed or at times even theoretically denied by mainline contemporary psychology (if they lack an empirical warrant). Such matters include inner conscious experience, the world of intrinsic value, as well as the higher, uniquely personal dimension of human nature (that is, of intellect and will). This book, therefore, offers a more complete survey of the entire sphere of psychological reality, which could provide the context for more properly interpreting empirical psychological phenomena. For example, should we understand psychological conditioning principles within a broader context of personal freedom? Is a person more rightly conceived in a psychologically immanent way, that is, oriented simply toward the fulfillment of instincts and needs, or is there as well a transcendent orientation, oriented to truth and meaning? Should we understand psychology simply from the point of view of efficient causation, or do we need to also take into account final causation? It will be of interest to psychology students of either undergraduate or graduate level and of great use to those with no prior knowledge of philosophy.

Love as human virtue and human need and its role in the lives of long-term prisoners

A multidisciplinary exploration

Christina Valeska Straub, University of Leeds

While the importance of love is rarely questioned, the effects of its presence and absence in certain environments often goes unnoticed. This book analyses the role of love in the lives of prisoners in a low security English prison. It seeks to provide a deeper insight into the meaning and role of love as a dual concept in the social-ecology of human existence, human development and well-being, and sets out to encourage a critical and practical (re)consideration of the potential benefits of love´s (re)inclusion into the prison set-up and purpose. This qualitative multidisciplinary analysis – based on psychological, moral philosophical, neuroscientific, and sociological literature – will appeal to postgraduates and early career researchers across the social sciences, as well practitioners of Criminal Justice and others interested in offender rehabilitation, and the effects of prison.

The Recovery Handbook: Understanding Addictions and Evidenced-Based Treatment Practices

Nicholas D. Young, American International College et al.

Addiction is rapidly becoming one of the most significant challenges to mental health today. According to the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH, 2018), 19.7 million Americans, aged 12 and older, battled a substance disorder alone in 2017. Additionally, 8.5 million of those individuals also suffered from a mental health disorder, with millions more suffering from a range of other addictive disorders and associated behaviors that interfere with physical, social and emotional health. These alarming statistics highlight the crucial need for mental health providers to be kept up to date with the latest research on the full range of addiction treatment and recovery. ‘The Recovery Handbook: Understanding Addictions and Evidenced-Based Treatment Practices’ provides a comprehensive examination of the various forms of addiction, its physical and mental complexities, and, unlike other sources on addiction, effective evidence-based interventions that promote a healthy recovery. Particular attention is given to the nature of addiction, including environmental, genetic, and developmental factors; with authors examining the short- and long-term effects of a variety of addictions such as drug, alcohol, gambling, food, sex, shopping, work, and video gaming to name a few. This book will serve as a valuable resource for counselors, psychologists, professors, graduate students in the helping professions, as well as families of addicts, co-workers, and those suffering from addiction themselves.

Passion killers: The art of passion killing in the age of stress and anxiety

Phillip Walden Bowen

There is growing pressure and stress placed on organisations to fight for customers and service/product placement in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. It has, therefore, never been more important to get the best out of the workforce. To achieve this, the role of the leader can be a fundamental factor in organisational success or failure. Leaders need to have the requisite skills to reflect the demands placed upon them in the 21st century. There are the “accidental managers” who just drop into the role of leadership and others who may develop skills and knowledge in readiness for a leadership role. There are also those who may have the innate ability to lead. Within the mix are those who are characterised by traits associated with the “dark triad” or who may use “pathocratic influence” on others to conform, reinforcing values (or lack of values) associated with toxic leadership. They create damage and harm. They become “passion killers”. The result can lead to a “pathocracy”. This book discusses the role emotional intelligence plays in helping people deal with stressful and challenging experiences, suggesting different ways to cope. The author reflects on the values that are integral to the success or failure of an organisation. “Passion” is identified as an added value that can differentiate one organisation from another. If passion is harmed, it can affect motivation, creativity, output, performance, and productivity. Therefore, this book provides the reader with examples of “passion killing” while making suggestions as to factors that can be adopted to engage and encourage passion. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations made to support those faced with “passion killers”. This book is aimed at those of all ages and educational backgrounds interested in developing their leadership knowledge and skills. It is also aimed at those interested in learning more about differences in personality, emotional intelligence, stress, coping, values, and the importance of understanding the impact of “passion killers”.

The Portrait of an Artist as a Pathographer: On Writing Illnesses and Illnesses in Writing

Edited by Jayjit Sarkar, Raiganj University, India and Jagannath Basu, Sitalkuchi College, India

Focusing on the various intersections between illness and literature across time and space, The Portrait of an Artist as a Pathographer seeks to understand how ontological, phenomenological and epistemological experiences of illness have been dealt with and represented in literary writings and literary studies. In this volume, scholars from across the world have come together to understand how the pathological condition of being ill (the sufferers), as well as the pathologists dealing with the ill (the healers and caregivers), have shaped literary works. The language of medical science, with its jargon, and the language of the every day, with its emphasis on utility, prove equally insufficient and futile in capturing the pain and suffering of illness. It is this insufficiency and futility that makes us turn towards the canonical works of Joseph Conrad, Samuel Beckett, William Carlos Williams, Virginia Woolf, Kazuo Ishiguro, Miroslav Holub as well as the non-canonical António Lobo Antunes, Yumemakura Baku, Wopko Jensma and Vaslav Nijinsky. This volume helps in understanding and capturing the metalanguage of illness while presenting us with the tradition of ‘writing pain’. In an effort to expand the definition of pathography to include those who are on the other side of pain, the essays in this collection aim to portray the above-mentioned pathographers as artists, turning the anxiety and suffering of illness into an art form. Looking deeply into such creative aspects of illness, this book also seeks to evoke the possibility of pathography as world literature. This book will be of particular interest to undergraduate, postgraduate and research students, as well as scholars of literature and medical humanities who are interested in the intersections between literary studies and medical science.

The Human Soul: Essays in Honor of Nalin Ranasinghe

Edited by Predrag Cicovacki, College of the Holy Cross

This collection of essays is dedicated to a recently deceased philosopher and humanist, Nalin Ranasinghe. His central philosophical and humanistic preoccupation was with the human soul. Not surprisingly, his greatest inspiration was Socrates’ credo “Care for your soul,” and the title of his first book was 'The Soul of Socrates'. In this and his later writings, Ranasinghe expressed his growing concern over the idea that the human soul has been hijacked due to the way our civilization has developed: the highest and noblest aspirations of our civilization have been replaced by our obsession with money, pleasure, and power. We now live in a time where we do not know who we are, nor who the people around us are. Despite all of the technical gadgets connecting us virtually, this is the age of disconnect and loneliness, as well as of the degradations of humanity. Ranasinghe insisted that the two keys for recovery are the self-knowledge of the soul and a continuous dialogue with others. We need to relearn how to relate to ourselves and others as unique individuals, not as objects for the satisfaction of our needs. Following his ideas, the twenty essays presented here are divided into two parts: “the soul in reflection” and “the soul in dialogue.” The contributors come from various countries around the globe and work in different disciplines, and their chapters aim to revive our interest in the soul and the obscured core of our humanity. This book will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students of philosophy; however, the essays are written in a non-technical language, also making them accessible to the general audience.

On Power: Neurophilosophical Foundations and Policy Implications

Nayef R. F. Al-Rodhan

‘On Power: Neurophilosophical Foundations and Policy Implications’ seeks to provide a historical, contemporary and predictive analysis of power. It aims to explain the history of political power in a unique way by approaching the concept of power through the lens of neurophilosophy – the application of neuroscientific principles to practical questions of governance, ethics, political and moral philosophy. In this book, Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan provides an accessible, incisive, and provocative take on the history, nature, and future of power. His insights go beyond conventional wisdom by exploring some of the themes that will become increasingly relevant to analysing power in the decades to come. A central idea of the book is the highly addictive universal nature of power at the neurochemical level, the craving for it, and the intense resistance to giving it up in all walks of life and circumstances. This can be applied directly to thinking about governance, political change, public policy, national and international peace, security, and prosperity. Al-Rodhan formulates an innovative conceptual picture of power by integrating the findings of neuroscience with the broader implications of power in the era of digital connectivity and cognitive and physical enhancement technologies. In doing so, he guides our approach to political power and public policy, influenced by ubiquitous, disruptive, and intrusive technologies. This book will appeal to students and scholars of neuroscience, philosophy, government, business, and international relations. It will also hold particular interest for politicians, public servants, think-tankers, policy-makers, and journalists, as well as senior executives from the corporate, sports, media and entertainment world.

Working with Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

A Guide for K-12 Teachers and Service Providers

Vance L. Austin, Manhattanville College and Daniel T. Sciarra, Hofstra University

This text is designed to help teachers and service providers work successfully with children who exhibit emotional and behavioral disorders by affording them a repertoire of valuable, evidence-based treatment strategies. Furthermore, because the book represents a synthesis of expertise, written from the dual perspectives of an experienced clinician and an educator, the school professional who reads it will better understand the role of both teacher and service provider, thus optimizing the coordination and effectiveness of the services that are critical to the success of these students. ‘Working with Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: A Guide for K-12 Teachers and Service Providers’ explores the most prevalent behavioral disorders encountered by school professionals as they work with today’s students. These high-incidence behavioral disorders are addressed by type, and each includes a discussion of the relevant characteristics, causes, prevalence, and treatment strategies. Features that are unique to this book include its acknowledgement of the need for a collaborative approach to these problems by all school professionals, as well as the coordination of services provided by the classroom teacher and other service providers working with these students. To date, few books, if any, have provided this holistic perspective. This book is designed to help K-12 teachers and related service providers (i.e., school psychologists, school social workers, speech-language pathologists, guidance counselors, and occupational therapists) work successfully with children who exhibit emotional and behavioral disorders by affording them a repertoire of valuable, evidence-based treatment strategies.

Guide to Personal Knowledge: The Philosophy of Michael Polanyi

Tacit Knowledge, Emergence and the Fiduciary Program

Dániel Paksi, Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE), Hungary and Mihály Héder, Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE), Hungary

This book will help readers understand the most important book of Michael Polanyi, ‘Personal Knowledge’, and help them grasp the essence of his philosophical thinking. In this volume, Polanyi’s goals are first reconstructed, and then his main philosophical arguments are introduced. The discussion is limited to the most crucial ideas that are indispensable for the arc of his book: tacit knowledge, emergence and the fiduciary program. The thirteen chapters of this volume explain the essence of the thirteen chapters of ‘Personal Knowledge’. The page numbers in this book work just as well with the 2015 ‘Enlarged Edition‘ of ‘Personal Knowledge‘ as with the original issues. Whether you just want to get the key quotation and the context right on tacit knowledge, emergence or the fiduciary program, or want to have a deep dive for your scholarly research in philosophy and management, this book is for you.

Searching for a Self: Identity in Popular Culture, Media and Society

Arthur Asa Berger, San Francisco State University

How do people turn out the way they do? How do they “arrive” at themselves and attain an identity? How are our identities affected by our birth order, our hair color, how tall or short we are, our intelligence, our occupation, our race, our religion, our nationality, the socio-economic level of our parents (or our being raised in a single-parent family), where we are born and where we grow up, the language we learn, the way we use language, our fashion tastes, our gender, our education, our psychological makeup, chance experiences we have, the people we marry (if we marry), and countless other factors? There are numerous matters to consider when dealing with identity, which, as Nigel Denis, the author of 'Cards of Identity', reminds us, “is the answer to everything.” 'Searching for a Self' takes a deep dive into the question of identity formation from various perspectives; it is written in a reader-friendly accessible style and makes use of insightful quotations from seminal thinkers who have dealt with the topic. Split into two parts, the first “Theories of Identity,” offers evaluations of identity from semioticians, psychologists, sociologists and Marxists while the second, “Applications,” offers case studies on topics such as Russian identity, Donald Trump’s identity, fashion and identity, LGBTQIA+ identity, Orthodox Jewish identity, elite university education and identity, tattoos and identity, travel and identity, and politics and identity. Covering a wide array of subject areas, this book will be a valuable resource for undergraduate students taking courses in identity, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, and other related fields.

Researching the Teaching of Drawing

Edited by Raymond M. Klein, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University

The Drawing Laboratory at NSCAD University was founded with funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2005 as a collaboration between psychological scientists from Dalhousie and drawing instructors at NSAD. The Drawing Lab is thus a unique place where scientists and artists collaborate on interdisciplinary research about the complex intellectual and practical act of drawing from observation. By bringing the scientific method to bear on how drawing processes unfold, those involved seek to improve drawing education while furthering research on the cognitive processes involved in drawing. The chapters in this book describe that research. ‘Perceptual and Cognitive Processes in Drawing from Observation’ will hold much interest for drawing instructors and students, psychologists and neuroscientists with a specialism in art, as well as those with a general interest in art and science. Authors of this volume are Amanda Burk, John Christie, Tim Fedak, Raymond Klein, Geniva Liu, Bryan Maycock, Mathew Reichertz and Jack Wong.

Food for thought: Nutrition and the aging brain

Richard A. Dienstbier, University of Nebraska

"Food for Thought: Nutrition and the Aging Brain" presents and analyzes the research on nutrition’s impacts on the aging brain, on possibly-declining cognitive abilities, and on changing emotional dispositions. With 40 pages of references, the depth of coverage of the underlying science makes the book appropriate for scientists in fields such as nutrition, geriatrics, and psychology. However, the book was also designed to be understandable for lay readers wanting a deeper understanding than can be found in typical books on food-brain relationships. To make this book useful for non-scientists and for students, the first three chapters provide background. They sketch relevant brain structure and neurochemistry, and then discuss in only slightly more detail how aging and stress affect neurochemistry, brain structure, cognitive capacities, and resilience. The third chapter introduces basic nutrition research issues, and the extensive Glossary provides additional explanations of scientific concepts. The subsequent 14 chapters consolidate modern research on impacts of nutrition on brain and cognitive capacities. The research shows how much various nutrients can affect cognition in aging people, and then how those impacts are achieved—that is, how genes are affected that in turn have impacts on neural structures and neurochemistry. That series of 14 chapters begins with analyses of general diets such as the Mediterranean and the MIND, but subsequent chapters examine impacts of specific classes of nutrients. Chapter 18 describes nutrition that affects resilience, interpreted as stress tolerance, and resistance to both anxiety and depression. Chapter 19 describes how other types of activities that affect brain and cognition, such as programs of physical exercise and cognitive stimulation, can interact with nutrition to build brain and sharpen cognition. The final chapter summarizes the information on nutrition impacts on brain and cognition, and extends the discussion of interactions of nutrition with other brain-enhancing activities.

Forming a Global Community

Joseph de Rivera, Clark University

To address global problems such as pandemics, warming, economic inequality, mass migration, and widespread terrorism, Joseph de Rivera argues that we must form a global community. A community of eight billion humans is difficult to conceive. However, it can be imagined and created if we transform our understanding of who humans are and what ‘community’ entails. We can understand who persons are, how they are motivated, and how a community can be conceived in a way that offers an alternative to individualism and collectivism. The “mutualism” that is proposed provides a moral compass for navigating the challenges that confront us and encourages specific governing structures, political economies, and rituals that will further the formation of a global community. Based on the philosophical analysis of John Macmurray, the author’s argument relies on an extensive review of the current literature on self, personhood, emotional motivation, social identity, forms of community, and religious and secular rituals. Interdisciplinary in nature, it aims to direct philosophy and the social sciences to the challenges of globalism and the creation of a global community.