Harrison explores the oneness hypothesis from the perspective of big history, seeking to place the idea that we are intertwined with other people, creatures, and things in the broad context of global intellectual and cultural history. Big history conceives of human history as marked by a fairly small number of dramatic and large-scale transformations in social and cultural paradigms, patterns, and practices. Such transformations result from complex processes that often build up gradually over time but then profoundly and fundamentally alter the way human life is conceived, lived, and experienced. Harrison contends that big history can offer important insights into ideas about the self and the significance of human life in the context of the wider cosmos, and that such might well lead us to conclude that prior to the move towards urbanisation the self was predominantly experienced and understood within the framework of possibilities provided by a oneness perspective. Harrison suggests that perhaps a general form of the oneness hypothesis may explain features of human experience that do not so much reflect less enduring social conditions but are embedded in our biology and our long history as a species. This would not only leave open but to some extend favor the development of contemporary conceptions of the self that either are based upon or incorporate important features of the oneness perspective.