New Books Network Jon Mills, "End of the World: Civilization and Its Fate" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024)
Sep 22, 2025
Jon Mills, Emeritus Professor of Psychology & Psychoanalysis, dives deep into existential risks threatening civilization. He connects Hegel and Freud to contemporary issues, discussing Calhoun's rat-utopia as a metaphor for societal collapse. Mills explores our unconscious drives towards self-destruction and critiques institutionalized harm while celebrating human empathy. He highlights the collective bystander effect that masks long-term dangers, urging proactive engagement and awareness to confront systemic threats.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Philosophy Frames Psychoanalytic Inquiry
- Jon Mills ties Hegelian metaphysics to psychoanalytic thought to explore civilization's fate.
- He uses philosophical depth to frame psychological and collective dynamics affecting societies.
Rat Utopia As Human Warning
- Michael Simpson summarizes Calhoun's rat experiments as a metaphor for human societal collapse under crowding and aggression.
- Jon Mills agrees and expresses worry about population-driven aggression before 2050.
Doomsday Logic And Population Trajectory
- Mills explains the doomsday argument as positioning humanity closer to possible demise given current population growth.
- He links accelerating population numbers to compounding existential risks.
