How Can Psychology Help Mankind to Overcome its Greatest Challenges?

Abstract information

With unprecedented acceleration in the geophysical impact of human activities and the identification of “tipping points” from which our planet will not be able to recover, mankind faces an increasingly imminent existential threat. In this video, STEFAN BRUNNHUBER describes how insights from psychology could help human beings to overcome these challenges. Brunnhuber demonstrates that existing proposed solutions, alternatively centered on demography, technology, governance, and growth, can only be successful if they are supported by a concomitant evolution in mankind’s way of thinking. Brunnhuber shows how fundamental behavioral shifts can be underpinned by institutional support systems to encourage a mindset focused on universal standards and reciprocal tolerance that could enable humanity to draw back from the brink.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10660

Researcher

Stefan Brunnhuber is Medical Director of the Diakonie Kliniken Zschadrass (Colditz/Saxony, Germany) and is Chief Medical Officer of its Hospital for Integral Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy. An endowed Professor for Psychology and Sustainability, Brunnhuber holds an additional Ph.D. in Socioeconomics (under Sir Ralf Dahrendorf) and has two decades of experience in the fields of psychology and finance. He is a Member of the Club of Rome, Trustee of the World Academy of Art and Science and Senator of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. Specialist research interests include the Psychology of the Anthropocene, Finance and Sustainability and Integral Mental Health. Co-author of one of the most successful psychiatry textbooks in Germany in the last 20 years, Brunnhuber’s latest books are "The Art of Transformation" (2016), "The TAO of Finance" (2018), and "The Open Society in the 21st Century" (in press).

Institution information

Hochschule Mittweida - University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Mittweida (FH))

Original Publication

Psychologie im Anthropozän. Warum wir über Grenzen nachdenken müssen

Stefan Brunnhuber

Published in 2017

Die Psychologie der Transformation

The Art of Transformation: How We Can Learn to Change the World

Stefan Brunnhuber

Published in 2023