Is Humanity Evolving?

Herein I make references to the concepts of Teilhard de Chardin, a scientist, Jesuit and Theologian who has stated that evolution is God’s plan ‘which is the underlying principle of all that is.’  Evolution is transformation.

It is easy to see how we have made progress with our technology.  In the life span of our oldest senior citizens society has moved from horse drawn carriages to supersonic jets for transportation; and from the cumbersome stationary telephone to smart phones that we carry in our pockets for communication.  The without—the material things—are so much more obvious, right there before our eyes.  We can weigh, measure and take apart the ‘things’ of the world and come to understand them and make improvements, but that isn’t evolution, it is production. The evolution is represented by the inventiveness.  In the within—the non-material thoughts and feelings—which are out of sight, there is nothing to weigh and measure so until recently they have been overlooked—yet in that within is the driving force of our advances. 

So what is that driving force?  Let’s call it consciousness—a word bantered around much these days but is still ill defined.  The agreed definition is that the word refers to ‘awareness by the mind of itself and the world.’  (Teilhard calls that reflective awareness.)  It was Sigmund Freud (1856 -1939) who initiated interest in the study of the mind by dividing the mind into two parts: the conscious and the unconscious.  Later Carl Jung added the concept of the collective unconscious, defined as ‘the part of the unconscious mind which is derived from ancestral memory and experiences that are common to all mankind.  (The way our humanness preserves consciousness).

Let’s return to our question: Is humanity evolving?  It’s an important question.  I postulate that if the question were asked in a survey, answers would fall into 3 groups. The smallest group would be those who say ‘yes’; the next group, a bit larger but more emphatic, would say ‘NO!’ and the remaining largest group would be made up of those who just shrug or say ‘I never thought about that.’  It’s an important question because a ‘yes’ answer opens the door to hope whereas the ‘no’ answer keeps company with fatalism. 

The essence of evolution is transformation from a lower state to a higher state. Here we need to consider the law of complexity-consciousness.  This law reflects the tendency for creatures to become more complex and at the same time to increase in consciousness.  We can see this operative in species development which, over billions of years, simple one-cell creatures grew increasingly more complex eventually developing spinal cords and brains which enabled them to have more freedom while rudimentary awareness increased to allow a choice of reacting patterns.  Initially evolution focused more on the without until Homo sapiens appeared, then evolution turned inward.  The within in humanity became the focus for evolution.The human is not merely ‘another creature, the human was God’s plan from the beginning.  Teilhard calls mankind ‘the flower on the tree of life.

From 800-400 BC a major evolutionary step was represented by the Axial Age when, throughout the then inhabited world, clusters of humanity simultaneously and independently produced thinkers and philosophers who laid spiritual groundwork which became the foundations of human civilization.

It is easier to see evolutionary advances from a distance . . . look all the way back to the early Homo sapiens.  The emergent humans came with the inherent ability for speech, but speech had to be invented . . . and they found ways to turn their grunts and vocal sounds into words—a gigantic evolutionary step forward without which civilization could not have been accomplished.  Those sounds-become-words needed ways to be captured and preserved . . . marks on objects became letters which became permanentized words . . . with time, more and more ways to preserve words came into being . . . writing on clay tablets, parchment, paper . . . all came to be from human effort.  Then came the marvelous invention of the printing press which hundreds of years later gave way to the computer.  We take those long-past innovations for granted, but stop for a moment and realize how transformative each of those steps was.  Those were evolutionary advances because the scope of what was possible had expanded.  The without of the shapes and forms are only incidental, the wonder lies in the non-material—the expansion of consciousness within the human mind.

It seems hard to accept that humanity is evolving when we can see so much humanly produced evil . . . but it make sense from the point of view of our freedom.  God gave the human free will.  That means God does not control us; we can choose our ‘next step’. The important thing to remember is that with the expansion of consciousness comes the advancement of knowledge.

Let’s think of an early human taking a new path and coming upon a tree with red objects hanging down. His tribe hadn’t encountered apples before.  He picks and bites into one and finds it tasty and good to eat.  He has three choices: He can take some back and share them with his tribe; he can eat his full and return to his tribe saying nothing thereby keeping this secret pleasure to himself; or he can lie to his people, telling of his encounter with a tree with large red berries and many dead animals around who must have eaten the poison berries—thus insuring no one else will eat them.  Humans are free to use their knowledge in any way.

Is humanity advancing? Clearly that is the case, but because of equal opportunity between the negative and positive uses of our abilities we are now in a precarious position unless and until we consciously and collectively choose for the good.

Post of September 11, 2015

Teilhard Series  -  6th

I apologize for my previous posting; my error was to re-post the 5th rather than the 6th (missing from the archives) of my series on the concepts introduced by Teilhard de Chardin.  His ideas challenge us to think holistically rather than compartmentally.   Underlying his body of work is the conviction of interconnectedness of all being, with a purposeful direction inherent in the evolutionary process.

As a paleontologist Teilhard traced evolutionary development back to its most distant origins, then followed its path forward to the present.  He discovered a pattern at work that he called complexity-consciousness.

The slow development of life on earth has proceeded from simple to complex.  In our first biology class we learned that life gradually emerged from the simple one-celled ameba to the indescribably complex human form, not just by changing in size and shape, but also by the increasing complexity of interacting systems.  On the one hand this kind of progression can simply be accepted as the way it should be, but on the other hand it suggests a profound intentionality with direction and purpose.  Teilhard saw its significance—life gradually unfolding by increasing in complexity and moving toward self-awareness. 

from Google/Wikipedia: “The law of Complexity-Consciousness is the postulated tendency to become more complex over time and at the same time to become more conscious . . . The law was first formulated by Teilhard de Chardin in his 1955 work The Phenomenon of Man.”

Before we look further at complexity-consciousness it is necessary to consider another of Teilhard’s concepts—that of the ‘without’ and the ‘within’.  Life (or existence) displays two dimensions.  The ‘without’ is the stuff of the universe.  The things we can see and touch, can experience as material solid objects, the so-called ‘real’ that we know and that to which science gives attention.  The ‘within’ is the non-material, what is called the subjective dimension . . . it is that to which religion, mysticism and psychology gives attention; it includes emotions and the elusive—still not clearly defined—consciousness.

The ‘complexity part of the law is more readily understood and accepted as science has long traced that aspect of the pattern—simple organisms evolve to more complex ones.  Yet there is another aspect of this law to understand.  In complexifying, there is a flow between the lower and higher state—potential for the higher state pre-exists.  In the evolutionary process nothing can come to be in an advanced state that did not pre-exist in some rudimentary form.  The new emerges from the potential carried in the earlier state  (think of butterflies, or oak trees).  Yet the new is a different entity.

Teilhard states, “In the world, nothing could ever burst forth as final across the different thresholds successively traversed by evolution (however critical they be) which has not already existed in an obscure and primordial way.”

It is important to realize both the ‘without’ and ‘within’ are equally bound to the principle that ‘for every synthesis . . . its end is already implied in the beginning’  (T)

Since the focus of science is on the ‘without’ it is easy for scientists to be dismissive of the appearance of consciousness in the human as a ‘fluke’ or an anomaly or an epiphenomenon and simply ignore it.  Teilhard makes the point that consciousness pre-existed in a rudimentary state in even the lowest life forms and came to flower in the human and is yet continuing to evolve.  Consciousness is THE crowning phenomenon that has revolutionized the earth.  Its evolving development as it appeared in the human can be charted: from cave-men just beginning to use tools and fire, to the inventors of modern technology; from a world of landscapes without indications of human habitation, to networks of highways and bridges crisscrossing the globe; from markings on cave walls, to countless books and elaborate communication systems, etc.  The human is much more than ‘just another animal’—a random product of blind chance . . . the human, endowed with consciousness, has emerged from the long complex evolutionary process armed with reflective awareness that enables the species to make of this world whatever they would have it be.  May the consciousness in the species continue to evolve to enable it to reach the potential intended.

As we see a pattern emerging and can trace order in development, it belies creation by random chance.

Post of August 11, 2015

In looking back over my blog archives I found an entry missing, it is part of my Teilhard Series of seven which ran between June 28 and October 1, 2015.  I don't know why it disappeared nor how to put it back into its appropriate place so I enter it here, out of sequence.

Teilhard is one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th Century.  He was a noted scientist and a mystic.  He saw beyond Darwin's identification of the 'without' of evolution to its 'within' of pattern, direction and goal.

Teilhard Series - 5th  (evolution)

What is evolution?  Some say it is the scientific theory that explains how species became what they are through changes over long periods of time.  Some say it is the ‘crazy idea’ that claims our most distant ancestors were apes.  Others say it is an idea expounded by atheists to prove there is no God.  And still others say it is a lie spawned by the devil to lead people astray.  A dictionary describes evolution as the gradual development of something, especially from simple to complex form.

Darwin’s explanation of evolution did not include pattern, direction and goal; that is what Teilhard’s work shows us.  From atoms clustering to form molecules, then cells; to human consciousness continually building to greater awareness, there is movement toward increasing complexity.  The goal is realization of the interconnectedness of all that exists.

Although evolution is implicit in all of Teilhard’s writing, he actually uses the word sparingly.  As a scientist he worked with the data that discloses the pattern that is hidden behind all life-struggles at all stages: the simple moves to the complex and so opens to new and greater possibilities.

            Evolution is the underlying principle of all that is.

Nothing in the known world materializes in a ‘poof’ from nothing; development comes through gradual change programmed in the pre-existing state that holds the blueprint for the final product.  Throughout Teilhard’s life-long study of development in all aspects he came to realize that everything unfolds in a direction from simple to complex that expands possibilities for the organism evolving.  Within the earliest stage of the simplest form there exists the possibilities of the ultimate form . . . within the acorn is the potential oak tree, within the egg is the potential bird, within the DNA is the blueprint of the person, and within the energy leading to the explosion of the ‘big bang’ was the universe that came to be.  There is direction: movement is always forward from simple to complex.  We can search all the way back to the ‘primordial soup’ wherein we see and recognize a pattern emerging: elements with affinity join to form new units.  As pointed out in my last blog, our material world took shape through the building of layer upon layer moving from the inorganic foundation to developing the layers necessary to support the emergence of life, then the layer of teeming life forms, and ultimately life that birthed thought which enables humans to discover, evaluate and create. 

            Evolution is the name for the process by which all comes to be.

Even thinking is an evolving process.  We have discovered so much about how our world works!  How do we discover what we know?  By beginning with the simple and expanding to the complex.  We see and wonder, we ask questions and follow leads; we have new thoughts and ideas and test them against what we understand from previous discoveries . . . and if the new discovery contradicts what we thought we knew we re-define our knowledge.  All that thinking, analyzing and concluding takes place in a realm that is not material.  Our ability to think and reason is a quality of our being—a unique human quality.  In the modern world we’ve come to over-value the material—the ‘things’ of life that can be weighed and measured—but we take for granted and overlook the non-material, yet it is with those non-material qualities we have changed the earth we occupy.

Teilhard de Chardin calls us to consider the non-material realm of our existence that he calls the ‘within’ of things, and he does so by study of the material substances that he calls the ‘without’ of things.  He maintains “the internal aspect of things as well as the external aspect of the world [need] be taken into account.” He was a respected scientist devoted to the study of science but also a Jesuit—a man of faith.  He believed in evolution and believed in God as the author of the process.  He saw no conflict between them.  The world has order and is intelligible, that bespeaks design by an intelligent source.

Not a random happenstance; Teilhard sees meaningful order in life.  We see all of nature as balanced and purposeful.  The earth and sky provides conditions for trees and plants to produce their yield; all living creatures are provided with the means necessary to develop and flourish.  When given the freedom to exist in their environment there is a natural balance between predator and prey and each species instinctively knows how to self-protect and seek appropriate shelter and sustenance.

Only the human, gifted with intelligence, has the ability to alter the course of nature . . . and/or to disrupt it so as to threaten the planet’s very existence.  That quality—intelligence—must have a better purpose!  It will be discovered when humanity comes to truly recognize that all of life is interconnected—with that realization we will ‘learn to think in a new way’.

A Voice To Be Heard

In the 1980’s Carol Gilligan, a professor at Harvard University, wrote a book titled: In a Different Voice.  The book made a lasting impression on me and inspired the poem that follows.  The book title points to the differences between how men and women encounter the world.  She noted that virtually all information “has implicitly adopted a male perspective as the norm”.  She calls for the inclusion of 'a different voice'.  Since that time efforts are made by some to include female references, but the mere inclusion of ‘she’ and ‘her’ misses the point.  The point is that throughout history, up until the 20^th century, even in developed countries, women were excluded.  They had no say in government or business; often no rights of ownership or inheritance; were excluded from higher education thus skilled occupations; and surely, all meaningful involvement in religious ritual was forbidden to women—save as passive recipient.

More than just a ‘place at the table’, Gilligan’s thesis is that women had no influence in shaping decisions that ruled their lives—their collective voice was silenced.  Nations were formed, laws were enacted, customs adopted, history written while for the most part women were invisible—even in the Bible only fathers were mentioned in lineage.  She makes a strong case for the fact that our development has been handicapped by silencing the voice of half of humanity.

Throughout the ages it has always been 'common sense’ that males and females see and explain life and the world differently—and too often women’s differentness has been judged as inferior and wrong.  Research in psychology affirms measurable differences between the sexes.  Studies of the play among young children show that boys are drawn to competition while girls more readily choose activities of cooperation.  Among adults given the task of solving a dilemma, the male approach is more legalistic and directed to finding an efficient solution.  A female approach is more global, taking into consideration surrounding circumstance and concern for the people who will be affected by the choice made.  Men mainly show concern for the ‘outside’ (the specific outcome) while women show equal concern for the ‘within’ (the relationships and feelings).

Each perspective emphasizes different values (what is thought to be of greater or lesser worth).  Value choices are not easily altered, there is resistance and denial.  In a one-dimensional world there are only two choices: yes or no, good or bad, right or wrong.  We no longer live in a flat world, we live in a multi-dimensional reality full of complexities—but old prejudices are hard to overcome.  Some voices urge us to hold on to them, but the day of white-male-supremacy is past.  Our world is in crisis; we must listen to all reasonable voices.  

* * *

HEAR ME

I am Woman, hear me oh Man!

You have intercourse with life from the outside,

            I from within.

You know only half of the reality that is

            --as do I.

Rigid and absolute, your aim is to impose and control;

Yielding and accommodating, mine is to accept and adapt.

You fear that I will limit your fecundity

            your self-serving pleasure pursuits

And so it is, for I seek compassion and understanding

            and protection for my vulnerability.

What you fail to know--for you know only half of reality--

            is that there is pleasure of a different kind as well as wisdom

            in my experience of life and living.

What you have demonstrated to me--for you have been in charge--

            is that your outside knowing, adventurous to be sure,

            is empty and meaningless without my insights!

You’ve insisted upon leading--your power and logic made it seem right--

            but narcissistically you fell in love with your own reflection

            and forgot to keep my voice alive with your love...

            instead, you asked of me only that I serve and service you

            --forgetting you know only half of reality.

Learn from me, not in a subservient way, but as an equal

            and we will both be enriched.

                                         - - -

Your vital virile outside knowing has changed the face of the earth

            you’ve built and discovered and re-created...

But without the within, it is all empty, hollow, meaningless

            --and above all infinitely dangerous!

You disdainfully dismiss what I have to contribute

My accomplishments seem mundanely simple and unimportant.

I cannot do what you have done

Your achievements are in fact glorious!

You infuse, you initiate, you achieve

            --but you also rape and plunder,

            immediate gratification and conquest is your goal.

Your arrogance is your curse

            because you won’t admit what you don’t know

            or can’t do alone.

You don’t nurture and sustain the developing potential

            you don’t watch and wait and hope for the promise to come

            --that is my task.

You know only half of the reality that is!

Would that you look at me...

            but you only glance at my form

Would that you listen to me...

            but you only scoff at my awarenesses

Would that you learn from me...

            but you only yawn at my wisdom.

Look at me and see me,

Listen to me and hear me,

Understand me and learn from me,

I am Woman, hear me oh Man

God of the Universe

God of the Universe . . . ?!!    Who can grasp that?

      God, You are the generating spark of the Big Bang

                        From which all that IS arose . . .

            Your being surrounds and engulfs all of Creation

                        Containing All within yourself . . .

      The life-process unfolded over eons of time:

-from ‘the without’, generating myriads of forms and shapes

continually complexifying toward ‘something more’;

                        -from ‘the within’, a rudimentary light of consciousness

                               was growing ever brighter, expanding toward knowing,

                        -till finally there emerged the reflective creature

                               able to realize the wonder of which it was a part.

      God, You brought forth life through evolution,

                                    everything is interconnected;

                        a process continually advancing forward to greater being.

                                    You are Greater Being,

                                    And you offer that to humanity.

      You have gifted us with consciousness

            to become cells of Your Being

                        You are All

            yet you fit yourself into the depths of our nothingness.

God of the Universe . . . I am awed!

            Although I try, I can’t grasp the full measure of that.

            

Middle Stanza Thoughts

This is a continuation of my former July 17 entry wherein, while in Hawaii, I explored the deeper thoughts stirred by the Trinity prayer, I continue with the prayer’s middle stanza:

            --as Savior, you clothed yourself in human flesh and entered

            time as Jesus to show us how we are to live.

God, you created matter—the solid stuff of being that has weight and dimension.  Teilhard has told us: in Being there is a 'within' and a 'without'.  The within—the Word and Spirit—preceded materiality.  At the appointed time your creativity brought forth mass and form—the without—and life, in an evolutionary process that revealed endless possibilities—reaching for the form most appropriate for containing the seed of spirit.  The mechanism of the process was that of complexity-consciousness:  a progression from simple to complex (the without) and ever deepening consciousness (the within).  Through eons of time, slowly evolving to eventually produce the human form that came to know itself and emerge from a primitive state to become a communicative, creative being—developing language and utilizing tools to shape their environment.  Slowly the light of awareness increased—knowing without knowing they knew—they were to gather together to organize and build while paying tribute to the unknown beyond their comprehension.  Mankind emerged as an altogether new species.  Beginning with limited awareness, the ‘without’ received more attention than the within—managing food and shelter, refining communications, gathering together to establish roles and rules and rituals, growing in awareness that there was something greater than what they could see and feel and touch. Looking backward from the present to some four thousand years ago we see a people gathering their tribes into a nation with a central focus binding them together; their belief in One God, creator of all that is.

When outer and inner development was sufficiently established to sustain fuller consciousness of meaning and direction, You, God, entered time as Jesus, accepting both the process and the limits of being human to demonstrate the full measure of human potential—the power and goal of our freedom: to create a world of peace and love by acknowledging our interdependence and together willing that our world be so.

Jesus came into the world in a male body full of strength, courage and intelligence, with a feminine soul living the truth of love, compassion and self-sacrifice.  The ‘without’ of Jesus was here but briefly, while the ‘within’ remains in Spirit.  God, you aren’t ‘out there’ or ‘up there’ beyond our reckoning but right here in our midst, waiting for us to discover you, not in the many conflicting ways men have designed you, but as you truly are.