Beyond the Warrior Ethos: Dr. Julia Mossbridge on Self-Transcendence and the Future of Military Service

In a wide-ranging conversation about military leadership and purpose, cognitive neuroscientist and visionary technologist Dr. Julia Mossbridge offered compelling insights into how self-transcendence could reshape our understanding of military service and national security.

The discussion revealed a fascinating perspective on the military as a repository of values that extend far beyond traditional notions of warfare and defense.

Dr. Mossbridge is an American cognitive neuroscientist, author and educator who works on exceptional human performance including psi effects, notably on precognition and presentiment.

Mossbridge is a Senior Distinguished Fellow in Human Potential at the Center for the Future Mind at Florida Atlantic University, a Member of the Loomis Innovation Council at the nonpartisan Stimson Center. Affiliate Professor in the Department of Biophysics and Physics at the University of San Diego and founder and board chair of the nonprofit TILT: The Institute of Love and Time.

The Neuroscience of Motivation and Decision-Making

Dr. Mossbridge emphasized that information alone doesn’t determine outcomes in military or intelligence contexts. Rather, she argues that emotional and motivational contexts are the primary drivers of decision-making—a factor often overlooked in organizational structures.

“I don’t think it’s the value of the information that determines the outcome at all,” Mossbridge stated during the discussion. “What often compels our actions is the motivational context or the emotional context. In fact, I would say that’s the number one thing that determines outcome, and it’s also ignored.”

Drawing from her presentation and workshop at National Intelligence University, Mossbridge explained how the brain has separate circuits for high and low motivational states. These different neural pathways can significantly impact performance, with high-motivation states requiring more energy but potentially enabling better outcomes. This neurological perspective offers a fresh lens through which to view leadership and organizational effectiveness in high-stakes environments.

Self-Transcendence as the Military’s Gift

Perhaps most provocatively, Mossbridge suggested that the American military has become “where we store our self-transcendence as a country.” She references Abraham Maslow’s later work, noting that shortly before his death in 1969, Maslow revised his famous hierarchy of needs to place self-transcendence—not self-actualization—at the pinnacle.

“In order to feel complete or whole, let’s say safe… human beings need to feel they’re connected to something larger than themselves,” Mossbridge explained. This connection to something greater can pull people up even when their basic needs aren’t fully met, driving them to work through hardships for a greater good.

This capacity for self-transcendence, according to Mossbridge, is particularly evident in military personnel, who are trained to prioritize service and to work toward something larger than themselves. It creates what her husband described as a feeling of safety he experiences when interacting with military members—they “know that they’re not the whole story” and instead see themselves as “a piece of something bigger.”

Reimagining the Military Mission

Looking toward the future, Mossbridge envisions an evolution in the military’s role from primarily “defending the country and fighting wars” to “creating a no-war future, and figuring out a way to do that to help humanity in general.” She cites humanitarian relief efforts as examples of how military capabilities can serve as a force for good beyond combat operations.

“With climate change, we’re going to need preparation, disaster relief, and education more and more,” she noted, emphasizing global interdependence. “We need to fight for and with each other, because we are interdependent. This is a complex system.”

Mossbridge drew a parallel between this interdependence and the human brain, where competition sometimes exists but is superseded by “incredible collaboration that has to happen for the whole brain and body to thrive.”

A Vision for National Service

To expand this ethos beyond the military, Mossbridge advocated for a national service program that would provide multiple pathways for young Americans to serve. While military service would remain an option, alternatives might include what she termed a “Care Corps” focused on supporting elderly or disabled people, providing technology education in underserved communities, or responding to disasters.

She pointed out that colleges and universities receiving federal funding could be required to only accept students who have completed one year of national mandatory service prior to enrolling – regardless of ability to pay tuition. Such a program, in her view, would counter the insularity of privileged educational pathways and foster a broader sense of public service and self-transcendence. It would create opportunities for diverse experiences and connections that could bridge social divides while addressing critical needs. In addition, she believes that structuring this service could offer leadership and organization jobs to thousands of veterans who can teach self-transcendence to a new generation.

Leadership for a Complex World

Throughout the discussion, Mossbridge repeatedly emphasized the importance of flattening hierarchies and valuing input from all levels of an organization. She praised innovative approaches within the Air Force that encourage personnel at every level to contribute ideas.

“Self-transcendence works differently depending on the level you’re at,” she observed. “If you’re at the bottom, self-transcendence means considering very heavily the commands, the suggestions, the advice, the orders from above, because they’re coming from people who are more expert. But at the top, self-transcendence means considering very heavily the advice” from those at lower levels.

This balanced perspective suggests a model of military leadership that maintains necessary structure while remaining adaptable and responsive—qualities increasingly essential in a rapidly changing global landscape. In a very practical way she pointed out that the assumed universality of the trusted value of hard information has a significant human component. This relates to how individual brains interprets incoming information, especially in combat. In other words, the value of information and fluidity of reaction in an individual cognitive combat dynamic can have a significant timing component. There are top-down and bottom-up checks and balances that must factor in the dynamic of a diversity of processed information, and this requires within-brain and between-brain collaborations.

Conclusion

Dr. Mossbridge’s insights offer a thought-provoking framework for reimagining our military ethos in the 21st century. By foregrounding self-transcendence, emotional intelligence, and global interdependence, she presents a vision that honors the traditions of military service while adapting them to meet emerging challenges.

As political leadership grapples with defining national priorities, Mossbridge’s perspective suggests that the military’s greatest strength may not be its weaponry or tactics, but its capacity to foster commitment to something greater than self—a capacity with profound implications for national security and global cooperation in the years ahead.

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