Psychology

Connection is not a nice to have. When we lose the right kinds of connections with others, we start to feel we don't exist. Buried underneath the complexity and the contempt, there's something wrong with how we're connecting as a society that's fuelling the anger we see.

the knowledge that we must die 'the worm at the core' of the human condition

Pioneering American psychologist and philosopher; founder of pragmatism

Without what Becker called 'cultural world views' we would be overwhelmed by existential terror. Beliefs about reality that we share foster psychological equanimity by giving us a sense of meaning and value.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Denial of Death

Ernest Becker proposed that we still worship, it's just that we worship money and political leaders or become members of cults, conspiracy groups or yoga! These are just different ways of dealing with death and anxiety.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Denial of Death

the distinguishing characteristic of humanity is our awareness that death is inevitable and the disinclination to accept that fact. Very simply, Becker says that we're just like all other creatures- we want to survive- but the difference is that we're able to do it using our vast intelligence. We can imagine things that don't exist and make them real.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Denial of Death

it is our knowledge that we have to die that makes us human

Even in those very difficult moments, I had enough freedom to choose who I wanted to be in the face of that circumstance. For all of us, the challenge is to rise above our experiences and make choices to choose light over darkness.

Former Colombian Presidential Candidate & Hostage Rescue Survivor

I truly believe humans have the capacity to change. That's the definition of freedom… our ability to choose who we want to be.

Former Colombian Presidential Candidate & Hostage Rescue Survivor

Human dignity can seem abstract, but when you are transformed into merchandise, something to be exchanged or bargained with, you need the intellectual, emotional and spiritual tools to cling to your humanity. That's the only way you can retain value in your own eyes.

Former Colombian Presidential Candidate & Hostage Rescue Survivor

My mindset changed from thinking that tomorrow I may be freed, to realising that unless I did something myself, nobody would come and rescue me. One of the ways I gathered strength was by constantly plotting my escape.

Former Colombian Presidential Candidate & Hostage Rescue Survivor

In space, you can only worry about the things you can control – not the constant low-level simmering danger that you might explode and die. If you worried about that, even a two-week flight would be hell, never mind a 200 day one.

NASA Astronaut & International Space Station Commander

The perspective of seeing the Earth from space has rewired our brain. We used to have a 2-dimensional view for hundreds of thousands of years. Then we became 3-dimensional with aircraft and rockets. Now with Hubble we have a 4-dimensional view of our universe. When you see a galaxy that's a billion light years away, you're seeing a billion years into the past in real time.

NASA Astronaut & International Space Station Commander

We must not only use the emotional part of exploration, but also the state of mind of exploration which encourages us to get out of our bad habits, beliefs, everything we know, our comfort zone, and even our way of thinking. The mindset of exploration encourages us to find new solutions.

Swiss Adventurer & Pilot of Solar-Powered Aircraft Solar Impulse

Research tells us that if you have a friend- as a child- who belongs to a group that your own group doesn't get along with, you will never have a bias against that group as an adult.

Psychologist who popularized the concept of emotional intelligence

We have a blind spot about the ways in which the things we innocently buy and use actually are decaying the environment we depend on, the global systems that support life on the planet. We are super-monkeys- super because of the technology, and our monkeys because our brains haven't kept up with the change.

Psychologist who popularized the concept of emotional intelligence

Our brain was designed for survival and was developed in the 99.9% of human history that occurred before culture and civilisation. As a result, there are situations in our lives today where the brain doesn't work so-well. We call this an emotional hijack.

Psychologist who popularized the concept of emotional intelligence