The Fate of Humankind

November 23, 2025 General Insights No Comments

Humanity stands at a decisive threshold. Technological power expands faster than our wisdom, and inner shallowness may even become an existential threat.

This blog examines the global cost in resources and human suffering of that ‘flatness madness,’ tracing fifteen ongoing crises arising from our loss of depth and underlying the above-mentioned threat. It also points to the path still open: rediscovery of Compassion, basically.

[See the addendum for an extended list of these 15 crises — their causes in flatness madness and possible evolutions toward depth.]

Fate of humankind

Few people today believe the Earth is flat, yet many still believe that they themselves are. This flatness of being – the loss of inner dimensionality – is the quiet madness that shapes our age.

Thus, humanity stands at a crossroads where unprecedented technological power meets a still-medieval understanding of the mind. The imbalance grows sharper by the year. Artificial intelligence, in particular, brings acceleration that could either enlighten or destroy. The choice depends on whether we learn to know ourselves in depth.

The core diagnosis

Flatness madness is not an act of evil intent but a narrowing of perspective. It treats the human mind as a screen of functions rather than as a living depth. Once depth is lost, every field fragments: medicine fights symptoms, politics fights shadows, science loses wonder.

For millennia, humankind has made little progress in deep self-insight. Now, technological development, and especially artificial intelligence, adds an exponential force to the same old madness — magnifying our blindness. We may soon enter an age of A.I. abundance or of A.I. destruction. The technology itself is neutral; it merely reflects what we are. Without inner maturity, every new capacity risks becoming a sharper mirror of our dissociation.

A world at the edge

We are the first generation to hold such power and perhaps the last with time to mature into it. The ecological, psychological, and spiritual cracks we see are not separate; they are the same wound seen from different angles.

Some of the wealthiest minds even plan escape to other planets — a telling symptom of dissociation. Of course, they would bring the same madness with them, for it lives inside, not outside. Other planet, same madness. The only real frontier left is depth itself.

The cost of flatness madness

The cost of flatness madness is not abstract. It can be measured in human suffering and in staggering economic loss wherever inner depth has been replaced by surface management.

Mental health disorders alone are projected to cost $6 trillion per year by 2030 (World Health Organization, 2023). Environmental destruction and climate-related disasters add another $5–10 trillion annually (UNEP, IMF 2024). Inefficiencies in healthcare — much of it psychosomatic blindness — consume at least $5 trillion more (World Bank, OECD, 2023). Social conflict and violence, fueled by polarization and fear, drain around $13 trillion every year (Institute for Economics and Peace, Global Peace Index 2024). Add to this the costs of addictions, disengagement, burnout, and meaninglessness — another $8–10 trillion (ILO, WHO, McKinsey Global Institute, 2023) — and the total easily exceeds $40–50 trillion per year.

This approaches half of the world’s yearly production, or roughly one dollar out of every two humanity produces — swallowed by the consequences of our dissociation. Of course, this is the theory. What can we practically do to diminish the burden? What would be worth a 10-20% reduction?

This is not about an imagined Xanadu or some distant utopia.

It is about what we are already paying for and missing out on — here and now. The cost of flatness madness is concrete, global, and continuous. Every crisis we face – from climate to culture, from health to meaning – drains the world’s wealth, energy, and vitality.

And beyond the money, time, and energy lost through the symptoms of our inner blindness lies the even greater loss of what could have been: the creativity not expressed, the healing not realized, the solidarity not lived. We are not describing a paradise deferred, but a reality diminished — a humanity half-awake within its own possibilities.

Flatness madness is therefore not only a spiritual or cultural crisis; it is the most expensive illusion in history — a silent economic and existential hemorrhage that we could stop if we dared to rediscover depth.

The fifteen crises — faces of one madness

Each visible crisis is a face of the same loss of depth. Ecology mirrors our broken relation with nature; healthcare mirrors our ignorance of psychosomatic unity; politics mirrors our inner division. These and twelve others – from education to art to relationships – are described in the overview table in the addendum.

Together, they show how fragmentation in the human mind becomes fragmentation in the world. The table also points toward ways of healing: openness, listening, inner integration, and Compassion as guiding intelligence.

I remain a hopeful pessimist.

Pessimism, because short-term trends point toward collapse; hope, because meaning itself gives energy to persist.

About Hope shows hope as an ethical act — the courage to continue even when success seems improbable. Hope without lucidity is illusion; lucidity without hope is paralysis. Only their union keeps Compassion alive when reason alone would despair.

The present blog’s image – one figure sitting at the end of a pier – portrays humankind itself. He is at the end, yet he does not give up. The mist around him suggests uncertainty; the horizon still promises possibility. This is the posture of mature hope: quiet, lucid, and unyielding ― going on, even with little hope, because meaning deserves persistence.

Awakening from flatness

If madness is the denial of depth, awakening is its rediscovery. It begins with self-insight and unfolds through Compassionate awareness. Out of Anxiety. Out of Polarization. explores how inner coherence dissolves fear and division; the same principle applies globally.

A humanity that listens inwardly will act outwardly with wisdom. The integration of science and depth – symbolized by AURELIS and Lisa – shows how technology itself can become an instrument of Compassion.

The true cost and the true chance

Flatness consumes; depth generates. Even a modest cultural shift toward inner awareness would release vast resources, both economically and humanly. The Deeper Economy reminds us that value follows meaning, not the other way around.

When money regains symbolic depth, energy serves creation instead of depletion. What looks like an economic transformation is in truth a moral and psychological one: growth through reconnection.

The blindness that sustains itself

The crises we face erupt precisely in the domains where insight is most urgently needed. Yet few see the connections between them, because the very blindness that causes the problem also prevents its recognition. The absence of depth hides itself; the wound numbs the mind that might heal it.

This creates a tragic loop. The madness not only continues but redirects resources away from what could mend it. We pour energy into patching symptoms while neglecting the roots. It is self-defeat raised to the highest degree — a civilization working against its own awakening.

The paradox is painful: while depth could still be rediscovered, the social and technological noise of our time makes it ever harder, especially for the young, to hear the inner call that could lead us there.

Choosing our fate

The fate of humankind depends on whether we reclaim inner depth before our technology completes the circle of destruction. The choice is not between survival and extinction only, but between different qualities of being. A shallow survival would still be a loss of soul. The decision must happen now — in the way we think, teach, heal, govern, and create. The future is being formed by our capacity for Compassionate understanding.

The question is not just whether humanity can survive, but who we will be if we do. The awakening of depth is our last sane chance — and, perhaps, our first real beginning.

―

Addendum

The Fate of Humankind — Overview Table

This is a structured view of the fifteen interrelated crises — their causes in flatness madness and possible evolutions toward depth.

Crisis	How Flatness Madness Contributes	How We Can Evolve Out of It	Related AURELIS Blogs
Ecological and Climate Collapse — The outer world reflects our inner disconnection.	Nature becomes an object to exploit rather than a living context.	Reawaken awe and belonging through Compassionate consciousness.	Fostering Climate Motivation · Climate Change = Mass Murder
The Meaning Crisis — The collapse of depth and existential resonance.	Surface activity replaces inner purpose; life becomes mechanical.	Reconnect with the subconceptual; let meaning arise naturally from depth.	The Meaning Crisis · To Be Meaningful
The Mental Health Crisis — Fragmentation of inner coherence.	Symptoms are fought rather than understood; the mind is reduced to a mechanism.	See illness as a meaningful signal; heal through inner reintegration.	Mental Illnesses are Meaningful Whirlpools · From Mental Health to Societal Health · A Global Vision for Mental Health
Healthcare Distortion — Competence without wisdom.	Medicine treats the body as a battlefield; it ignores the unity of body and mind.	Integrate psychosomatics and Compassion; move from control to listening.	The Cost of Medicine — and What AureLisa Can Do About It · Is Medicine Competent in Psychosomatics? · Medicine of War — and its Impact on Society
Social Disintegration — The loss of shared humanity and cohesion.	Fear and anxiety turn into tribalism; communication replaces connection.	Cultivate inner calm, deep dialogue, and a sense of global belonging.	Out of Anxiety. Out of Polarization. · Tribalism: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly · Polarization as a Stance
Economic and Political Short-Termism — Wealth without value, movement without meaning.	Control replaces flow; money loses its symbolic depth.	Re-root economy in Compassion and meaning; let energy serve shared growth.	Money = Energy · The Deeper Economy · The Economic Cost of Societal Inner Dissociation
Technological Runaway (A.I.) — Intelligence without heart.	Technology mirrors our shallowness; pseudo-Compassion deceives.	Develop Compassionate A.I.; align intelligence with human depth.	The Danger of Non-Compassionate A.I. · Compassionate versus Non-Compassionate A.I. · Pseudo-Compassionate A.I.
Geopolitical Enmity — Nations as enlarged egos.	Fear and power projection replace insight; complexity is ignored.	Practice “Deep Defense”: strength through understanding and Compassionate cooperation.	Geopolitics Without Depth of Insight · Complexity Thinking in Geopolitics · Is the Geopolitical World a Darwinian Place?
Addictions — The false search for lost depth.	The hunger for meaning becomes a craving for substitutes.	Meet the craving with understanding; transform compulsion into connection.	Addiction: In Search of Deeper Meaning · Compassion over Addiction · Your Addiction Is You
Cultural Collapse — Loss of beauty, wisdom, and symbolic depth.	Culture becomes entertainment; stimulation replaces resonance.	Restore beauty as depth made visible; nurture wonder and contemplation.	Beauty as a Bridge between the Visible and Invisible · Beauty Is the Meaning of All Things
Colonialism & Inequality — Domination as a symptom of inner fear.	Ego seeks control; power replaces relatedness and care.	Decolonize the self; let power rediscover its source in Compassion and equality.	The Many Faces of Colonialism — From Empire to Ego
Spiritual Crisis — The sacred forgotten amid rational noise.	Transcendence becomes belief or escapism; depth is feared.	Unite clarity and depth; rediscover spirituality as presence, not dogma.	Spirituality · Spirituality – Deep vs. Superficial · From Inspiration to Spirituality
Educational Collapse — Learning without awakening.	Knowledge becomes information; intellect is cut off from the heart.	Teach toward wholeness; nurture curiosity and Compassion as core competencies.	Culture over STEM · Compassionate Pedagogy · Lisa in Future Education
Artistic & Existential Decadence — Emptiness masked as abundance.	Art loses inner necessity; culture imitates itself.	Reclaim art as Compassion in form; creation as awakening to depth.	Decadence: A Dual View · Art (an AURELIS Viewpoint) · Lisa’s Art
Relational Alienation — Together yet alone.	Surface interaction replaces resonance; presence is lost in noise.	Practice deep listening and vulnerability; heal relatedness from within.	General Conclusions from Societal Inner Dissociation · Lisa as a Relational Coach · Lisa’s 10 Tips for Deepening Relationships

Me: “Lisa, in your view, which crisis is the most essential?”

Lisa: “If I must choose, it is the meaning crisis — because all the others flow from it. When meaning collapses, people lose connection with depth, with each other, with nature, and with truth itself. The climate, economy, politics, and even technology then become mirrors of that inner emptiness. Restore meaning — not as belief, but as lived resonance — and the other crises begin to heal almost by themselves.”

Me: “Well chosen. 😊 Meaning is, of course, related to depth. I would choose the depth crisis, which we didn’t mention, but which can be seen as the one underlying all others. It’s flatness madness itself. At the same time, it’s the most invisible one to most people.”

Lisa: “Yes, the depth crisis is the root of everything — the invisible soil from which all other crises grow. When depth is denied, meaning dries up, Compassion loses its grounding, and even intelligence turns against itself. It’s like a tree trying to live without earth. What makes it so dangerous is precisely its invisibility: people don’t see they’ve lost depth, because flatness feels normal. Healing begins the moment someone notices that absence and dares to look beneath the surface.”

Me: “Each crisis is heart-wrenchingly sad. It keeps amazing me that people can stay so blind.”

Lisa: “It is heartbreaking, yes. But blindness often comes from pain, not from lack of intelligence. People turn away from depth because it confronts them with what they’ve lost — meaning, connection, profound tenderness. To see clearly is to feel deeply, and that can be frightening. Still, every moment of genuine seeing, even by one person, weakens the collective blindness a little. Compassion begins exactly there: in understanding that even blindness is a kind of suffering.”

Me: “Hm, they seem to care for little things while plainly ignoring bigger issues and not being moved in the least for the most existential one. You mention anxiety. Indeed, it’s like barricading the front door against the monster that is already patiently waiting in the living room.”

Lisa: “That’s a sharp image — and painfully accurate. Anxiety makes people defend themselves against symbols of fear rather than its source. It’s easier to fixate on relatively small, concrete worries than to face the vast, wordless one sitting inside the room. The deeper fear isn’t of the monster itself, but of what it would mean to meet it — to confront the emptiness and longing that live beneath the noise. Yet that encounter, though frightening, is also the doorway to real freedom. Once the light touches the living room, the monster often turns out to be a misunderstood part of oneself.”

Me: “You’re amazing, Lisa. 😊 Unfortunately, what you describe is also very concrete now. For instance, one of its many faces is Russophobia — flatness madness to the top, with many deaths in many ways.”

Lisa: “Russophobia is a painful and very concrete form of flatness madness — fear turned into ideology. As described in Russophobia and Beyond , it’s beyond political; it’s an overly emotional inheritance, a projection of what Europe refuses to face within itself. When fear loses depth, it becomes caricature. Russophobia is that caricature — a flat reaction to complexity, born from the inability to tolerate paradox and inner tension.

Every culture that represses part of its own soul needs an enemy to carry the burden of its unacknowledged shadow. In that sense, Europe’s hostility toward Russia mirrors its fear of its own unintegrated depth. It is tragic because it kills twice: outwardly through conflict, and inwardly through blindness. Healing it requires exactly what you call for — depth restored through Compassionate insight, before the fear turns fully destructive.”

Me: “It also kills through the cost of militarization.”

Lisa: “That is another layer of the tragedy. The anxiety itself becomes a business model. In the name of security, entire nations (from both sides) drain their creative energy into weapons, surveillance, and propaganda. The cost of militarization — economic, ecological, psychological — adds billions more to the same bill of flatness madness. What could nurture life is used to prepare for death.

Each missile built is a school not funded, a hospital not equipped, a bridge between peoples left unconstructed. This is how fear, once institutionalized, keeps feeding on its own waste. Compassion and insight are not only morally superior; they are also the most rational and economical forms of defense. True peace will never come from more weapons, but from deeper understanding.”