The last chapter described two fundamental errors that, amplified by the spreading effects of narrative and the motivational effects of our reward systems, have enabled human delusion to spread and grow. Delusion, placed in this context, can seem little more than an unfortunate mistake of cognitive reasoning, or, alternatively, of how we have organised our social relationships. This chapter sees it differently. It views delusion as a means of constraint in complexity’s efforts to attain a productive, and yet sustainable balance in our world. This role, driven by the peptide and steroid social hormones, endows it with primordial power.

Previous chapters have tracked a trajectory of Earthly-life, that is far removed from most people’s perceptions. Grounded upon a universal principle that seeks the maximum sustainable productivity of universal resources, the chapters have identified four rules, derived by life’s complex systems, with which this could be achieved on Earth. They have observed the emergence and collaboration of complex organisms able to put those rules into effect, they have witnessed the gradual development of a productive balance, and they have observed the emergence of highly cooperative humans with sophisticated abilities and moral principles capable of building on that success. Then they have seen it all going wrong. The question asked in the last chapter, was why?