What do we mean by 'The Human Family'?

In a biological sense Family precedes Genus and Species, in the classification of different forms of life. Using this meaning the term Family of Man refers to a connection of origin to all of the primates.

We also use the term Human Family to refer to the various people on this planet as being members of The Human Family, implying that we all, despite our differences, are as one.

The term The Family is also used to refer to the basic family unit of parents and children. We use the term 'Family Tree' to describe graphically how brothers and sisters, can also be great great grandchildren, and first and second cousins to other individuals, and in turn can be fathers and mothers and uncles and aunts and so on, forming the branches of this metaphorical tree.

The Human Family is all of these things.

We believe that to fully understand the true nature of being human, we must grasp and acknowledge the full implications of all of these definitions. We believe it is important not to lose sight of where we have come from in an evolutionary sense. In the understanding of how our species evolved there are clues to our genetic pre-dispositions and the instinctual nature that is hard-wired into our brains before we are born.

It is wise to be fully aware of the connectedness of all people across cultures, because there are as many lessons to be learned by our differences as by our similarities. Some so called primitive cultures, which are largely devoid of mental illnesses like depression and schizophrenia, could teach much to the so called advanced cultures about living in balance with nature.

Finally, the core family unit is the active catalytic hot-spot for the real growth of the human race. Our children are not born with the ability to survive on their own like chicken or turtle hatchlings. Human babies must be provided with what effectively amounts to a protracted post-natal gestation period that lasts for many years. During this period we are totally dependant on our parents or caregivers for bodily and cultural nourishment, and for providing the reality framework that programs us for our life journey. In this way, the baby is the growing tip of the stem of the human family tree, projecting into the future.

Is the Human Family under threat?

On a macro-level, or looking at ourselves from global perspective, the seemingly never ending wars, conflicts, acts of terror and manifestations of racial and religious intolerance, over-population, pollution, and exploitation problems, point clearly to significant threats. On a micro-level increasing rates of suicide and mental illness and the break down of families and increasing pathology in the community create a similarly disturbing picture. If the human family is a threatened species, then that threat clearly arises from within.

What is our position, our philosophy?

In the interests of preservation of the Human Family, we aim to promote co-operative, tolerant cohesiveness and peace and understanding among its many branches. In line with our credo, that "the tip grows the stem", we believe that the best place to assist the development of the Human Family is at the 'coal-face', with new parents and their babies, for this is where the future of our species is being written.

As Jean Liedloff puts it so succinctly in her book ‘The Continuum Concept’

"We have had exquisitely precise instincts, expert in every detail of child care, since long before we became anything resembling Homo sapiens. But we have conspired to baffle this longstanding knowledge so utterly that we now employ researchers full time to puzzle out how we should behave toward children, one another and ourselves."

This web site offers a forum, in the service of information and education, for the interest and use of our local and neighbouring societies and cultures. We want to encourage movement towards reducing and solving problems and issues within the Human Family and empowering the family unit. It is also our desire to encourage an increasing and sustainable harmony between the Human Family and the physical and natural environment.



The Human Family Media Alliance
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